NEW 

PRIMARY METHODS 



A SERIES OF 

PRACTICAL HOME STUDIES IN PEDAGOGY 



JESSIE ELIZABETH BLACK, Ph.B., Ed.B. 

CRITIC TEACHER, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 



VOLUME TWO 



THE FOLLOWING ASSOCIATE EDITORS PREPARED THE LESSONS 

CONNECTED WITH THEIR NAMES 



EMELIA M. GOLDSWORTHY 

Director of Art, Western State Normal 

School, Kalamazoo, Mich. 

Drawing 

\ GERTRUDE LONGENECKER 

Supervisor of Practice Work State 

Noimal School, Kirksville, Mo. 

Use oj the Senses 



LUCY DORRIT HALE 

Department of Drawing, State Normal 

School, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Construction Work 

MARY REID PIERCE 

Department of Music, American 

Book Company 

Music 



CHICAGO: 
INTERSTATE SCHOOL OF CORRESPONDENCE 

378-388 WABASH AVENUE 



o-^v 



V^'>' 



Copyright, 1909; ?Y Bellows Brothbrs COMPANY 



!Ci.A253or>:? 



>/// 



REVIEWING EDITORS 

JS 

Sarah C. Brooks 

Principal Baltimore Teachers' Training School, Baltimore, Md. 

Language 



Mrs. E. E. Olcott, A.M. 

Head of Teachers' Course, Central Normal College, Danville, Ind. 

Reading and Phonics 



Anna E. McGovern, B.S. 

Professor of Primary Methods, Iowa State Teachers' College, Cedar 

Falls, Iowa 

Geography 



Lottie L. Deneen 
Primary Critic, State Normal School, LaCrosse, Wisconsin 

Number 



Grace Greves Truax 

Formerly Primary Critic, Training Department, State Normal 

School, Kearney, Neb. 

Physiology 



Hi 



CONTENTS 

LESSON TWELVE 

Geography and History 
geography 

PAOB 

1. Place op Geography in Primary Grades ^^ i 

2. Geographic Material i 

(a) Selection 2 

(b) Presentation , . 2 

3. The Teacher's Preparation 3 

(a) General 3 

(b) Special 5 

4. Outdoor Studies 5 

5. The Study of Types 6 

(a) Importance 6 

(b) Method 7 

6. The Potato 8 

(a) Purpose of Lesson 8 

(b) Preparatory Work 8 

(c) The Potato Plant 9 

(d) Experiments and Observations 9 

(e) History 10 

(f) Value of the Crop in the United States 10 

(g) Chief Potato States , 10 

(h) Uses 10 

(i) Varieties i 

(j) Items of Interest i 

(k) Questions i 

7. A Brook Basin i 

(a) Plan i 

(b) Method 12 

8. The Wind 13 

(a) Purposes of the Lesson 13 

(b) Preparation or Introduction 13 

(c) Presentation 13 

(d) Suggestive Questions 14 

(e) The Four Winds 14 

(f) Selections for Memorizing 15 

(g) Stories 1 6 

(h) Handwork 16 



vi Contents 

PAGB 

9. Ostrich Farming 16 

(a) The Ostrich 16 

(b) Ostrich Taming 17 

(c) Ostrich Farms 17 

(d) The Cawston Farm 18 

(e) Plucking 18 

(f) Items of Interest 18 

10. Reviews 19 

11. Work for the First and Second Grades 20 

(a) Plants and Animals 20 

(b) Study of the Weather 20 

(c) The Study of Material 22 

1*. Work for the Third Grade 23 

(a) Nature Study 23 

(b) Maps 25 

(c) Climate 25 

(d) Surface 26 

(e) Drainage 27 

(f) Products 27 

(g) Occupations 27 

(h) Means of Travel 27 

(i) Public Buildings 27 

(j) Course of Study 28 

(k) Preparation for the Text-Book 28 

13. Suggestive Lessons for Primary Pupils 28 

(a) Snow 28 

(b) The Sun 28 

(c) Occupations 28 

14. Suggestive Lessons for Third Grade 28 

(a) Market Gardening 28 

(b) Visit to a Creamery 29 

(c) Farming 29 

(d) Foods 29 

HISTORY 

15. Relation op Geography to History 30 

16. Modes of Travel 30 

(a) Purpose of Lesson 30 

(t) Method 30 

(c) Objects for Study 31 

(d) History 31 

17. Indian Life: The Story op Hiawatha 32 

(a) Introduction 32 

(b) The Indian's Dress 33 

(c) The Houses 33 



Contents vii 



PAGB 

(d) The Indian Baby 34 

(e) Work 34 

(f) Modes of Transportation 35 

(g) Indian Amusements 35 

18. Books for Teachers 35 

Test Questions 36 

LESSON THIRTEEN 
Construction Work 

introduction 

1. Educational Value 37 

2. Adaptability of the Course 37 

3. Materials 37 

4. Relative Value of Results 38 

5. The Teacher's Preparation 38 

first year 

6. Paper Cutting 39 

(a) Material 39 

(b) Method 39 

(c) Work to be Accomplished 39 

7. Preliminary Exercises 40 

(a) Definitions 40 

(b) Exercises 40 

8. Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Forms 43 

9. Thanksgiving Dinner Table 44 

10. Furniture and Utensils; Christmas Tree Ornaments .. 45 

(a) Furniture and Utensils 45 

(b) Christmas Tree Ornaments, Toys 45 

11. The House 45 

12. Spring Work 46 

13. Exercises in Stitching 46 

14. Autumn Work 47 

(a) Book 47 

(b) Envelope 48 

(c) Paper Napkins 48 

(d) Bean Bag 48 

(e) Holder 49 

(f) Penwiper 49 

15. Christmas Tree Ornaments 49 

(a) Lanterns 49 

(b) Cornucopias 50 

(c) Paper Chains 50 

(d) Stars 50 



viii Contents 



PA6B 

i6. Triangular Box 5° 

17. Match Scratcher 51 

18. Valentines 51 

19. Easter Eggs 52 

20. May Baskets 52 

21. Cover for Drawings 52 

second year 

22. Introductory S3 

23. Fruits and Vegetables 53 

24. Trees 53 

25. Puritan Poster 53 

26. Village 53 

27. Santa Claus 54 

28. Christmas Tree Poster 54 

29. Winter Sports 54 

30. Poses and Games 55 

31. Books for Seeds 55 

32. Pumpkin Masks 56 

33. Braiding and Cording Raffia 56 

(a) Braiding 56 

(b) Cording 58 

34. Colonial Cradle 58 

35. Raffia Napkin Ring 58 

36. Woven Holder 59 

37. Sewing Bag 59 

38. Screen 60 

39. Soldier's Cap 61 

40. Table 63 

41. Chair 63 

42. Bed 64 

43. Valentines 64 

44. Easter Rabbit 64 

45. Books for Quotations 64 

46. Books of Flowers 65 

third year 

47. Introductory 65 

48. Animals and Figures 65 

49. Wagons and Parade. 66 

50. Santa Claus 66 

51. Gardening 66 

52. The Farm 66 

53. Envelope 69 



Contents ix 

PAGE 

54. Book of Trees 69 

55. Book of Leaves 69 

56. Thanksgiving Dinner Cards 70 

57. Post Card Album 70 

58. Sled 71 

59. Picture Frame 71 

60. Flower Pot Cover 72 

61. Woven Purse 72 

62. The Square Box 73 

63. Valentines 73 

64. Easter Greetings 74 

65. Kite 74 

66. May Basket 75 

67. Book of Birds 75 

68. Additional Foldings 75 

(a) The Handkerchief Case 75 

(b) Picture Frame 75 

(c) The Boat 77 

(d) The Box 77 

(e) The Windmill , 77 

69. Doll's House 77 

(a) The Seat 77 

(b) The Bureau or Sideboard 77 

(c) The Stove 79 

Test Questions 79 



LESSON FOURTEEN 

Drawing 

introduction 

1. Aim of the Lessons 80 

2. Arrangement of Plan 80 

3. Materials 81 

(a) Paper 81 

(b) Pencils 81 

(c) Crayons 82 

(d) Water Colors 82 

(e) Brushes 82 

(f) Water Color Pan 82 

(g) General Care of Materials 82 

4. Supplies and Supply Houses 83 



X Contents 

SEPTEMBER PAGE 

5. First Week 84 

(a) Decorating the Schoolroom 84 

(b) Lessons in Color 84 

(c) Use of Water Colors 85 

6. Second Week 86 

(a) Free Illustration. 86 

(b) Figure Drawing 88 

7. Third Week 9° 

(a) Study of Grasses 90 

(b) Memory Drawings 90 

8. Fourth Week 90 

(a) Flower Painting 90 

(b) Memory Lessons 92 

(c) Exhibits 93 

Test 93 

OCTOBER 

9. Nature Walks 94 

10. First Week 94 

(a) Autumn Weeds 94 

(b) Seat Work 96 

11. Second Week 96 

(a) Autumn Leaves 96 

(b) Book Cover 98 

12. Third Week 98 

(a) Trees 98 

(b) Landscape 99 

(c) Illustrating a Poem 99 

13. Fourth Week 99 

(a) Fruits 99 

(b) Modeling 100 

Test loi 

november 

14. Preparatory Work 102 

15. First Week 102 

(a) Fruits and Vegetables 102 

(b) Cutting and Modeling 104 

16. Second Week 104 

(a) Outdoor Studies 104 

(b) Illustrate Reading Lessons 104 

17. Third Week 106 

Special Events 106 



Contents 



XI 

PAGE 

i8. Fourth Week io6 

Preparation for Thanksgiving io6 

Test io8 

DECEMBER 

19. Nature and Picture Study no 

20. First Week no 

Winter Sports no 

21. Second Week 112 

Winter Landscape 112 

22. Third Week 114 

Preparations for Christmas 114 

Test 116 

JANUARY 

23. First Week 116 

Toys 116 

24. Second Week 118 

(a) Object Drawing : 1 18 

(b) The Pencil 118 

25. Third Week 118 

Object Drawing (Continued) 118 

26. Fourth Week 120 

Object Drawing (Continued) 120 

Test 122 

february 

27. Preparation for Special Days 122 

28. First Week 124 

Receding Lines 124 

29. Second Week 126 

(a) Perspective 126 

(b) Lincoln's Birthplace 127 

(c) Valentines 127 

30. Third Week 127 

(a) The National Flag 127 

(b) Soldier's Hat 128 

(c) Soldier's Figure 128 

31. Fourth Week 128 

Illustrated Stories 128 

Test 128 

march 

32. The Month of Awakening 129 

33. First Week 129 

(a) Illustrated Poems 129 

(b) Paper Cutting 1 30 



xii Contents 

PAGE 

34. Second Week 130 

Birds and Branches 130 

35. Third Week 132 

Studies in Figures 132 

36. Fourth Week 132 

(a) Outdoor Studies 132 

(b) Picture Study 134 

Test 134 

APRIL 

37. Springtime 134 

38. First Week 136 

(a) A Study in Birds 136 

(b) Bird Booklet 136 

39. Second Week 136 

Garden Scenes 136 

40. Third Week 138 

Spring Landscape 138 

41. Fourth Week 138 

(a) Spring Flowers 138 

(b) May Baskets 140 

Test 140 

MAY 

42. Animal Life 140 

43. First Week 142 

(a) Study of Animals 142 

(b) Designs 142 

44. Second Week 144 

Stained Glass Effects 144 

45. Third and Fourth Weeks 144 

Articles for the Home 144 

Test 146 

JUNE 

46. The Annual Exhibition 148 

47. First Week 148 

Invitations 148 

48. Second Week 150 

(a) Out Door Studies 1 50 

(b) Animal Studies 1 50 

(c) Flags 1 50 

49. Third Week 1 50 

(a) Art Portfolio 150 

Test 151 



Contents xiii 

PAGB 

picture study 

50. Value 151 

51. Method 152 

52. Selection op Pictures 152 

(a) French Artists 152 

(b) English Artists 153 

(c) American Artists 153 

(d) Dutch Artists 1 53 

(e) Flemish Artists 153 

(f) German Artists 153 

(g) Spanish Artists 153 

(h) Italian Artists 153 

53- Aids 153 

(a) Text-Books 1 53 

(b) Magazines 153 



LESSON FIFTEEN 

Spelling and Penmanship 
spelling 

1. What Spelling Includes 154 

2. Preparatory Work 155 

3. Oral and Written Spelling ) 155 

4. The First Lessons 156 

5. How Much to Spell 157 

6. Plan for Written Spelling 157 

7. Deficient Children 159 

8. How TO Study Spelling Lessons 160 

9. Visualization 162 

10. Value of the Imaging Power 163 

11. The Law of Association 163 

12. Spelling and Drawing 164 

13. Spelling in Sentences 164 

14. Rules for Teachers 165 

penmanship 

15. Learning to Read Writing 166 

16. What Penmanship Includes 167 

17. Sense Training Aids Penmanship 167 

18. Objects Sought 167 

19. The Teacher's Preparation 168 

20. Position 169 

21. Form 169 

?2. Devices for Teaching Fqr?|§ ,.,.........,,.... 169 



xiv Contents 

PAGE 

23. Movement 17° 

24. Material 171 

(a) Crayon 171 

(b) Pencils 171 

(c) Paper 171 

(d) Pen and Ink 172 

25. Ruling and Rulers 172 

26. Writing on the Blackboard 173 

(a) By the Teacher 173 

(b) By the Pupils 174 

27. Seat Lessons 174 

28. Plan of Work 175 

29. Causes of Trouble 177 

30. Patience and Persistence 177 

31. Causes of Poor Writing 177 

32. Time for Lesson 177 

33. Uniformity of Handwriting 178 

34. Exhibition of Penmanship 178 

35. How Much To Do 179 

36. Drill Exercises and Counting 179 

37. Aids 182 

Test Questions ^ 182 



LESSON SIXTEEN 

physiology 

1. The Teacher's Preparation 184 

2. Purpose Outlined 184 

3. Hygienic Results Expected 185 

4. Correlation with Other Subjects 186 

(a) Nature Study 186 

(b) Reading, Spelling and Language 187 

(c) Arithmetic 187 

(d) Elementary Geography 187 

(e) Sense-Training 188 

5. Method of Procedure 188 

6. The Earliest Lessons 189 

7. Parts of the Body 191 

(a) Main- Divisions of the Body 191 

(b) Location of Main Divisions 191 

8. Illustrative Lesson 191 

9. Parts of the Head 192 

Location of Parts of the Head 192 



Contents xv 

PA.GB 

10. The Eyes 193 

(a) Parts that Protect the Eyes 193 

(b) The Location of Protective Parts of the Eye 193 

(c) Visible Parts of the Eye 194 

(d) Location of Parts of the Eye 194 

(e) Care of the Eye 194 

11. The Nose 196 

(a) The Parts of the Nose 196 

(b) Location of Parts of the Nose 196 

(c) Care of the Nose 196 

12. The Mouth 196 

(a) Parts of the Mouth 196 

(b) Location of Parts of the Mouth 196 

13. The Ears 197 

(a) Parts of the Ear 197 

(b) Location of Parts of the Ear 197 

(c) Caie of the Ear 198 

14. The Finger Nails 199 

1 5. The Skin 200 

16. Parts of the Neck and Trunk 201 

(a) Parts of the Neck 201 

(b) Parts of the Trunk 202 

17. The Limbs. 202 

(a) Parts of Upper Limbs or Arms 202 

(b) Parts of the Hand 202 

(c) Names of the Fingers 202 

(d) Parts of the Foot 202 

18. The Joints 202 

(a) Joints of Upper Limbs or Arms 202 

(b) Joints of Lower Limbs or Legs 202 

(c) Plan 202 

19. Hand and Foot 203 

20. The Bones 204 

(a) Plan 204 

(b) Bones of the Head 204 

(c) Bones of the Trunk 204 

(d) Bones of Arm and Hand 204 

(e) Bones of Leg and Foot 205 

2 1 . The Blood 205 

22. Waste and Repair 205 

(a) Agencies that Wear and Waste 205 

(b) Agencies that Repair and Rebuild 206 

23. Correlated Literature 206 

?4. Temperance Physiology 206 

Test Questions 309 



xvi Contents 

PAGE 

LESSON SEVENTEEN 
Music 

1. The Aim of Music in the Public Schools 211 

2. Material 212 

3. Care of the Children's Voices 212 

(a) Rules 212 

(b) Suggestions 213 

4. General Principles of Methods 213 

5. Imitation 214 

(a) The Rote Song 214 

(b) Uniting the Voices 215 

6. Recognition of Tone 216 

7. Representation of Tone 218 

8. Recognition of Rhythm 220 

9. Representation of Rhythm 221 

10. Interpretation 222 

' (a) Definition 222 

(b) Methods 223 

11. Order of Development 224 

(a) The Natural Process 224 

(b) Syllabus for First Three Years 226 

12. General Suggestions 230 

13. Helpful Books for Teachers 231 

(a) Primary Rote Songs 231 

(b) First Steps in Music Training 231 

(c) Graded Music Courses 231 

(d) For Mixed Grades 232 

(e) Charts 232 

Test Questions 232 

LESSON EIGHTEEN 
The Use of the Senses 

1. Function of the Senses 233 

2. Relation of the Senses and Knowledge 233 

3. Necessity for Use of the Senses. . . . ^ 234 

4. Defective Sense-Organs - 234 

(a) Testing the Ear 235 

(b) Testing the Eye. , 236 

(c) Right Conditions 236 

5. Facts Concerning the Senses 237 

(a) Development of the Sense-Organs 237 

(b) The Functions of Each Sense 237 

(c) All the Senses Must Be Used 238 

(d) Proper Physic?il Conditions ,,..., 238 



Contents xvii 

PAGE 

6. The Sense Factor in All Lessons 238 

(a) Reading 239 

(b) Writing 239 

(c) Number 240 

(d) Geography 241 

(e) History 243 

(f) Drawing 244 

(g) Nature Study 245 

7. Importance of Indirect Sense Training 245 

8. Books for Teachers 246 

Test Questions 246 

LESSON NINETEEN 

Moral Training 

introduction 

1. Necessity for Moral Training 248 

(a) Disregard for Law 248 

(b) Lack of Home Training 249 

(c) Lack of Knowledge of Right and Wrong 249 

(d) Legal Requirements 249 

(e) Public Opinion 249 

2. Factors in the Problem 250 

internal agencies 

3. Nature of a Moral Act 250 

4. Heredity 250 

5. Emotions 251 

6. The Will 251 

7. Experiences. 252 

8. Ideals 252 

external agencies 

9. Importance 252 



The Home. 



253 



1 1 . Society 254 

(a) The Street 254 

(b) The Gang 255 

(c) Other Organizations 255 

12. Schoolhouse and Grounds 256 

13. The Schoolroom 256 

14. The School 257 

1 5. Daily Lessons 258 

16. The Teacher 258 

methods 

17. Underlying Principles 259 

18. Make a Good Beginning 260 



xviii Contents 

PAGE 

19. The General School Regime 260 

20. Special Lessons '-^^ 

21. Politeness ^^^ 

(a) At School 262 

(b) At Home 263 

22. Kindness 264 

(a) Schoolmates and Friends 264 

(b) Animals 265 

(c) Plants 266 

23. Reverence 266 

24. Promptness 267 

25. Obedience 268 

26. Responsibility 269 

27. Truthfulness 271 

(a) Lying 271 

(b) Exaggeration 273 

(c) Prevarication 273 

(d) Slander 274 

28. Honesty 274 

29. Industry 276 

30. Conduct 277 

31. Self-Control 279 

32. Love of Country 280 

33. Pupil Government 280 

34. Aids 283 

Test Questions 284 



LESSON TWENTY 

The School and Its Environment 

Introduction 285 

The Problem 286 

The Schoolhouse 286 

(a) Seats 287 

(b) Heating Apparatus 288 

(c) Ventilation 289 

(d) Points to Remember 290 

(e) Lighting 291 

(f) Condition of the Building 291 

The School Furniture 292 

(a) The Work Table 293 

(b) The Sand Box 293 

(c) The Blackboard 293 

The School Grounds 294 



Contents xix 

PAGB 

6. The Patrons 296 

7. The School Officials 297 

8. The Superintendent 298 

9. The Pupils 300 

10. The Teacher 301 

(a) Character 301 

(b) Personal Appearance 302 

(c) Qualifications 303 

(d) Responsibility 303 

1 1 . Requirements 304 

Test Questions 305 

LESSON TWENTY-ONE 



School Management 



I. Importance. 



307 



2. General Matters 307 

(a) Janitor Service 307 

(b) Lunches 307 

(c) Mothers' Meetings 308 

3. Emergencies 308 

(a) Accidents 308 

(b) Inclement Weather 309 

(c) Precautions Against Fire 310 

(d) Contagious Diseases 310 

4. Apparatus 312 

(a) Pointers 312 

(b) Erasers 312 

(c) Blackboard Curtain 313 

(d) Charts 313 

(e) Other Apparatus 314 

5. Books and Periodicals 314 

6. Decorations 316 

(a) Color Scheme 317 

(b) Borders ..., 317 

(c) Pictures 317 

(d) Other Decorations 320 

7. Organization 321 



8. Helpers. 



322 



9. Program 3: 

(a) Points to be Considered 322 

(b) Grades in a Room 323 

(c) Other Considerations 324 

10. Recesses 324 



XX Contents 

PACE 

11. Work for Pupils not Reciting 325 

12. The Friday Program 327 

13. Special Days 328 

14. The Recitation 329 

(a) Purpose 329 

(b) The Plan 329 

(c) The Teacher's Preparation 332 

15. Questioning 333 

(a) Characteristics 333 

(b) Distribution 334 

(c) Answers 335 

16. Reviews and Examinations 336 

(a) Reviews 336 

(b) Examinations 336 

17. The Amount of Written Work 337 

18. Marking Papers 337 

19. Choosing Methods 339 

20. Order of Procedure 340 

21. Habits op Mental Work 341 

Test Questions 343 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Blackboard Sketches 4 

Design for Blackboard Calendar 21 

Design for Blackboard Calendar 22 

Spring Flowers 24 

First Year Paper Cutting: 

Pear, Carrot and Duck. Fig. i 44 

Articles of Furniture. Fig. 2 45 

Hen and Chickens. Fig. 3 46 

Playhouse Made by Primary Children. Halftone 47 

Method of Sewing Booklet. Fig. 4 48 

Envelope. Fig. 5 48 

Penwiper. Fig. 6 49 

Lantern. Fig. 7 . , <, 50 

Six-Pointed Star. Fig. 8 50 

Triangular Basket. Fig. 9 51 

May Basket. Fig. 10 51 

Designs for Cover. Figs. 11 and 12 52 

Second Year Paper Cutting: 

Fruit and Vegetable. Fig. 13 $3 

Trees. Fig. 14 54 

Children Posing. Fig. 15 55 

Design for Book of Seeds. Fig. 16 55 

Pumpkin Mask. Fig. 17 56 

Colonial Cradle. Fig. 18 57 

Raffia Napkin Ring. Fig. 19 58 

Picture Frame and Holder. Fig. 20. Halftone 59 

Table. Fig. 21 60 

Chair. Fig. 22 61 

Bed. Fig. 23 62 

Easter Rabbit. Fig. 24 63 

Decoration for Book op Memory Gems. Fig. 25 64 

Alphabet 65 

Decoration for Book of Flowers. Fig. 26 66 

Third Year Paper Cutting: 

Farm Scene. Fig. 27 67 

Santa Claus. Fig. 28 68 

Gardening. Fig. 29 68 

Pattern for Envelope. Fig. 30 69 

Thanksgiving Dinner Card. Fig. 31 70 

Pattern for Sled. Fig. 32 71 

Raffia Picture Frame. Fig. 33 72 



xxii Illustrations 

PACK 

Flower Pot Cover. Fig. 34 72 

Woven Purse. Fig. 35. Halftone 73 

■Valentine. Fig. 36 73 

Valentines. Fig. 37 74 

Easter Egg. Fig. 38 74 

Paper Folding. Fig. 39 76 

Paper Folding— Dolls' Furniture. Fig. 40 78 

Figures Expressed by Straight Lines 87 

Figure Painting in Water Color or Ink Work 89 

Grass Studies in Pencil, Crayon or Brush Work 91 

Studies of Seed Pods, in Water Color or Ink 95 

Tree Studies, in Water Color or Ink 97 

Study of Fruit Branch, in Black Water Color or Ink; 

Design from Fruit Branch 103 

Design for the Story of Little Agoonack 105 

The Home of Hiawatha 107 

The Story of the Three Bears 109 

Conventionalized Units, to Decorate Objects Made by 

Pupils m 

Pattern of Portfolio, with Suggested Units for a Design 113 

Pattern and Designs for Square Box 115 

Christmas Toys Bring Children's Joys 117 

Appearance of Drum in Different Positions 119 

Appearance of Basket in Different Positions 121 

Crayon Work. Halftone 123 

Studies of Familiar Objects in Silhouette Effects 123 

Receding Lines and Objects in Perspective 125 

Illustrating the Week's Work, by Children Posing 131 

Figure Painting in Silhouette — Children's Work 133 

Illustrating Children's Games — Children's Work 135 

Spring Buds and Flowers; Design for Spring Booklets. . . . 137 

Ulysses Plowing — First Grade Work 139 

Animal Studies in Crayon 141 

Conventionalized Designs 143 

Spring Flowers, in Water Color or Ink Work 145 

Paper Tearing — Children's Work 147 

Circus Day Memories — Children's Work 149 

Two School Interiors. Halftone 289 

Primary Schoolroom. Halftone 317 

color plates in drawing lesson 
Plate I Autumn Foliage Plate V Drum 

Plate II Autumn Landscape Plate VI Girl Posing 

Plate III Pumpkin Plate VII Tulip 

Plate IV Japanese Lantern Plate VIII Chickens 



LESSON TWELVE 

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY 

GEOGRAPHY 

1. Place of Geography in Primary Grades. Most of the 
geography teaching in primary grades is incidental and 
indirect. The exception is in those schools whose courses of 
study require a period a day to be devoted to this subject 
in the third grade. But even here the teaching is liable to 
be indirect; that is, its chief purpose is to prepare the pupils 
for the formal study of geography in the next grade, which 
is done by directing the lessons in nature study and some 
language lessons to this end. In first and second grades 
no direct reference to geography is made. The nature study 
lessons, however, bring numerous geographical facts and 
phenomena to the attention of the pupils. For instance, 
lessons on plants lead to some knowledge of the places in 
which they grow, and casually call attention to the seasons. 
Plants begin to grow in the spring; they mature in summer, 
ripen in autumn and sleep (rest) through the winter. Similar 
facts are brought out in the study of animals. The study 
of the uses to which plants and animals are put leads to some 
discussion of our needs and how they are supplied. 

The teacher of the first and second grades should have 
in mind the geography work of the grades above, and should 
so direct nature lessons as to have them lead up to this 
work by natural and easy steps. The method for doing 
this has been fully illustrated in the lessons on Nature Stvidy, 
in Volume One. This lesson, therefore, has to do chiefly 
with the work of the teacher in the third grade. 

2. Geographic Material. The teacher must select her 
geographic material with extreme care. Third grade children 
are not interested in the study of details, consequently simple 
subjects should be selected, and in the study of these only 
the most striking features should be noticed. 



2 Public School Methods 

(a) Selection. The work of this grade should be devoted 
almost entirely to home geography. Fruitful topics for dis- 
cussion, topics with which the children are already some- 
what familiar, are the weather, the seasons, the length of 
day and night in summer and winter, food plants grown in 
the vicinity, or found in the market, articles of food and 
clothing obtained from other localities, the occupations of 
the neighborhood, wind, rain and snow, and the relief of 
the region about the school, as brook basins, hills, plains, 
valleys, etc. 

This list of topics is suggestive of what may be used, but 
the selection should be varied to meet local conditions. The 
teacher in a rural school or a small town can do more with 
the study of reHef forms than can the teacher in a city, 
while the latter can do more with occupations than the teacher 
in the country. 

(b) Presentation. In arranging her material for lessons, 
the teacher should be guided by the following principles of 
presentation : 

(i) Correctness, The articles used should be genuine, not 
imitations; or, if pictures are used, they should give a cor- 
rect representation of the object. The illustrations should 
be true to life; that is, they should conform to the facts 
associated with the subject of the lesson. 

(2) Regard for the Human Element. The geography lessons 
in this grade should place particular emphasis upon the 
relation of the subjects studied to our daily life and needs. 
Home geography affords ample opportimity for this line of 
work. In the study of remote regions or foreign countries, 
this can be done by having the studies center around the 
people of the region. 

(3) Knowledge at First Hand. So far as possible the 
pupils should obtain their knowledge of geographic facts 
by observation, hence the great importance of selecting 
home material for the first lessons. This observation should 
be directed by the teacher, who should ask the children to 
look for the particular things which she wants them to see. 



Geography and History 3 

The teacher may also give additional facts when the pupils 
have learned what they can by their own observation. The 
teacher should be careful, however, in giving additional 
information, that she does not carry the subject beyond 
the pupils' understanding. She should look at the subject 
from their point of view, rather than from her own. 

3. The Teacher's Preparation. The teacher's preparation 
for the geography work of this grade may be considered 
under two heads — general and special. 

(a) General. The general preparation consists first of 
all in acquiring such a knowledge of the subjects to be pre- 
sented as will enable the teacher to make them interesting 
to the children. Along with this knowledge, a general idea 
of the subject as a whole, and of the work for each term 
and the entire year, should be gained. Otherwise the teacher 
will not be able properly to relate the lessons to the 
geography work of the grade. 

The second step in general preparation consists in acquir- 
ing such skill in the use of the crayon and the pencil as will 
enable the teacher to draw simple sketches on the black- 
board or on paper. AbiHty to do this adds much to one's 
success in teaching geography. Elaborate drawings are not 
desirable. The following sketches show what may be used 
to excellent advantage, and any teacher can, by a little 
practice, acquire sufficient skill to enable her to make sketches 
of this kind. 

The third step is the collection of material. The geography 
teacher should gather and constantly have on hand a stock 
of material specially adapted to the work of the grade in 
which she is giving instruction. One of the most valuable 
portions of this material will be pictures which she can 
secure from magazines, daily papers and many other sources. 
Especially helpful are the pictures obtained from circulars 
distributed by the large railway and steamship companies. 
Descriptive catalogues of large manufacturing firms and 
other leading wholesale and retail establishments also con- 
tain a great deal of material that can be used. Picture postal 



Public School Methods 




BLACKBOARD SKETCHES 

cards are so common and inexpensive that they also can 
be made to contribute largely to this collection. Samples 
of raw material, from which clothing and other articles in 
common use are made, is also of great value in giving the 



Geography and History 5 

children first hand knowledge, and in lending interest to 
the work. The school which has a cabinet of such material, 
supplemented by collections of minerals, insects and woods, 
is fortunate. 

Both pupils and teacher can assist in collecting all the 
material here suggested. It should all be classified and 
arranged on a systematic plan, so that whatever is needed 
can be obtained without waste of time. 

(b) Special. The teacher's special plans will consist in 
the selection of subjects for daily lessons, and the planning 
of each lesson. In selecting geography subjects for primary 
grades, the teacher should be guided by (i) the adaptation 
of the subject to the capacity of the children, (2) its adapta- 
tion to the season of the year, (3) its ability to be easily 
related to other departments. To illustrate: the lessons in 
nature study are easily related to geography. They are 
also closely related to drawing and language, and occasionally 
to number lessons. Frequently subjects, otherwise equally 
proper, might be selected for primary grades were it not 
for the fact that they are of such nature that they are not 
easily related to the other work of the school. It is usually 
wise to omit such subjects. The preparation for the lesson 
should include the selection of the subject for the lesson, 
and a thorough study of the subject for the purpose of pre- 
senting it to the class so as to bring out the desired points. 
This study should include the general line of questioning 
necessary to lead the class to discover the desired facts and 
principles. In addition to this, the teacher should prepare 
to give one or more interesting facts or incidents, to relate 
an anecdote or read or repeat a short poem or other literary 
selection especially suited to the lesson. 

4. Outdoor Studies. Since all the geography lessons in 
the primary grades have to do with the immediate neigh- 
borhood, the lessons can often be made more effective by 
taking the class to the place where the object under con- 
sideration can be studied. So far as possible, objects near 
the school should be selected, but sometimes in cities and 



6 Public School Methods 

large towns a trip of several blocks is necessary. Because 
of the danger incurred, trips to factories and machine shops 
are not recommended for primary grades. 

When an outdoor study is decided upon, it should be 
carefully planned by the teacher, who should direct the 
children's attention to points which she wishes them to 
observe. The trip should always be followed by a discus- 
sion in class, in which each pupil should be called upon to 
state what he learned. The teacher should not be discouraged 
if these first attempts are seemingly failures. She will find 
that one child saw one thing and another another, notwith- 
standing the fact that the attention of the class was directed 
to the same objects. However, by putting together the 
points brought out by the various pupils, a connected and 
reasonably systematic account will be obtained. This should 
be re-stated to the class by the teacher in such a manner 
that all can remember it, and from day to day it should be 
called up until each pupil is able to give a connected account 
of what was learned during the trip. 

Caution. In reviewing the excursion, after the first 
lesson only a few moments of each recitation should be 
given to it; otherwise, the children will become tired of the 
subject and lose interest. 

5. The Study of Types, (a) Importance. Outdoor 
studies bring us to an important phase of geography teach- 
ing. This is the study of a few objects or phenomena as 
types of the classes which they represent. The multitude 
of subjects contained in geography precludes even so much 
as the briefest consideration of many; therefore others, 
especially those that, on accovmt of their relation to the 
subject as a whole, are the most important, must be selected 
for study. The study of one river from its source to its 
mouth will give the pupils a good idea of nearly all rivers. 
Likewise, the study of a prominent mountain, like Pike's 
Peak, with all its surroundings, prepares for the study of all 
mountains, and as the connection of this peak with others 
is shown, the idea of the mountain range is developed. Th9 



Geography and History 7 

study of Lake Michigan embraces all the facts common to 
the Great Lakes. This is also true in all lines of industry. 
The study of a single coal mine, wheat field, lumber mill 
or factory will give the class tangible and definite ideas of 
the great industry to which each belongs. 

(b) Method. While fraught with great possibilities, the 
study of types may result in failure unless the work is care- 
fully planned and executed. The teacher's plan should 
include the selection of material, her own preparation for 
the recitation and for securing from the pupils the desired 
results. 

In selecting material, the teacher should be guided by 
the capacity of the class, the means for preparing the lesson 
and the interest that the subject will awaken in the pupils. 
With pupils of the second and third grades, the lessons 
should deal with those things with which the class is some- 
what familiar, and should not be on subjects too difficult 
for them to understand; neither should they be on subjects 
whose relations to other subjects are not easily seen. In 
the rural schools of Illinois and Iowa, such subjects as corn 
and milk are excellent. In towns, some leading manufacture 
or other occupation can be chosen. In either case, the 
teacher should begin by selecting the subject that she can 
use to best advantage, and in the lower grades the studies 
should always be confined to those subjects which can be 
illustrated from material easily obtainable. 

The teacher must plan the lesson carefully. She should 
become thoroughly familiar with the subject, obtaining as 
far as possible her knowledge at first hand. This may be 
done by visiting the place and by making inquiries of others. 
If an industry is to be studied, the teacher should visit the 
factory, learn all she can by her own observation and sup- 
plement this knowledge by conversation with those engaged 
in the work. Having obtained this knowledge, she should 
so arrange it that she can give clear, vivid and interesting 
descriptions of what she has seen, and also show the rela- 
tion of the subject under consideration to other subjects; 



8 Public ScJwol Methods 

as, in the study of milk, it is not only necessary that the 
teacher be able to give a full accoimt of how milk is obtained 
and of its uses on the farm, but she should also be able to 
explain the relation of the farm dairy to the creamery, and 
of the creamery to the supplying of the people in the great 
cities with butter and cheese. Transportation of milk to 
such cities as Chicago, Saint Louis or any large city to which 
it is shipped should also be noted. 

In the preparation of the lesson, the teacher should also 
decide upon what information she will give the pupils for 
the purpose of arousing their interest in the subject, and 
what information she will ask them to obtain for them- 
selves. At the recitation following the laying out of the 
work, each pupil should report upon his progress. These 
reports will enable the teacher to direct the activities of the 
children more definitely, and will show also what informa- 
tion the pupils are unable to obtain and what she should 
supply at that time. It will probably require several recita- 
tions to complete the work, and before the subject is dropped 
each pupil should be able to give in good language a con- 
nected accoimt of what has been studied. 

The following type lessons illustrate what may be 
attempted in primary grades, and also give definite plans 
for arranging and presenting other type lessons. They 
should be considered as suggestive, and the teacher should 
make such modifications as may be necessary to adapt the 
plan to the needs of her class. 

6. The Potato, (a) Purpose of Lesson. To lead chil- 
dren to observe and to appreciate a common farm product. 

(b) Preparatory Work. Picture study of The Angelus. 
This picture dignifies labor. Lord Houghton said: 

Against the sunset glow they stand, 
Two humblest toilers of the land. 



O lowly pair! you dream it not, 
Yet on your hard, unlovely lot 
That evening gleam of light has shot 
A glorious passage; 



Geography and History 9 

For prophets oft have yearned, 

And kings have yearned in vain to know the things 
Which to your simple spirit brings 
That curfew message. 

Enough for us 

The two lone figures bending thus, 
For whom that far off Angelus 
Speaks Hope and Heaven. 

About one hundred years ago the potato was introduced 
into France by Parmentier. The peasants were not pleased 
with the gift and seemed determined not to cultivate it. 
Parmentier knew it would prove valuable as food, and suc- 
ceeded in arousing the curiosity of the people by guarding 
his potato fields during the daytime, and permitting the 
watchmen to withdraw at night. The potato plants dis- 
appeared very rapidly. 

■ (c) The Potato Plant. Lead the children to the field 
to discover characteristics of this plant. 

(i) Roots; Long, fibrous; strike down deep to find food 
and moisture. 

(2) Stems: Stout, branching, triangular, incompletely 
winged. Underground branches end in thickened tips — the 
tubers. 

(3) Leaves: Alternate, compound, large and small leaflets. 

(4) Flowers : Wheel-shaped, in clusters, on curving stems. 

(5) Fruit: A round, purplish-green berry, called potato 
hall. 

(d) Experiments AND Observations, (i) Grate a potato 
on a piece of cheese cloth; squeeze out the water and 
measure it. 

(2) Slice a potato into a glass of water and discover why 
the water appears milky. 

(3) Cut off a very thin slice and hold it up to the light. 
Describe its appearance. 

(4) Place one end of a slice, cut crosswise, in colored 
liquid (water colored with red ink), and watch the liquid 
passing upward through rings of growth. 

(5) Cut a slice lengthwise and examine it. 



10 Pvhlic School Methods 

(6) Plant the whole potato, a half, a quarter, a piece with 
one eye, etc.; decide which is best. 

(7) Plant the potato with the stem end upward; plant 
another with the bud end upward, and note the difference 
in growth. 

(8) Find out the depth at which the roots feed. 

(9) Find out which contains more water, young or ripe 
tubers. 

(10) Look for potato balls. 

(11) Describe the appearance of the stalks when the 
potatoes are ripe. 

(12) Describe the appearance of potatoes growing in a cellar. 

(e) History. The potato is a native of Chile, South 
America. It was introduced into Europe by the Spaniards 
about 1580. In i886 England celebrated the tercentenary 
of the potato. Frederick the Great of Prussia sent tubers 
to all the gardeners in his country and also directions for 
their cultivation. The potato was introduced into the future 
United States near the close of the sixteenth century. The 
potato is related to the deadly nightshade, and was very 
unpopular for many years. 

(f) Value of the Crop in the United States. Yields 
of 250 or 300 bushels to the acre over large areas are com- 
mon. There are some records of more than 50c bushels 
to the acre. The average yield in the United States is about 
100 bushels to the acre. The yearly potato crop in this 
country averages about 280,000,000 bushels, having a value 
of from $180,000,000 to $197,000,000. 

(g) Chief Potato States. These are New York, 
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, and Utah. The 
leading foreign countries in the production of potatoes are 
Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary and France. The 
quantity of potatoes eaten in the United States amoimts 
to 3^ bushels a year for each person. 

(h) Uses, (i) Food. 

(2) Starch. The manufacture of starch is one of the 
important industries of Germany, Russia, Holland and 



Geography and History 11 

America. The potato contains eighteen to twenty per cent 
of starch. Dextrine is prepared starch, Violet powder is 
scented starch. Starch is used in sizing paper, stiffening 
cotton goods, thickening colors in calico printing, and also 
in the preparation of lozenges, tablets, adhesive stamps, 
and for numerous other purposes. 

(i) Varieties. There are many varieties of potatoes; 
among the best known are the Early Rose, Early Ohio, 
Triumph, White Star, Dakota Red, Mammoth Pearl and 
Burbank. 

(j) Items of Interest. The French and Germans call 
the potato "earth apple;" the Hungarians, the "earth 
pear." Germany yields one-fourth of the world's potato 
crop. New varieties are obtained from seed. The tomato, 
tobacco and potato belong to the same family of plants. The 
Colorado beetle, or potato bug, is perhaps its worst enemy. 

(k) Questions. Let the children find answers to the 
following questions: Why is this plant called the "Irish 
potato?" 

How are potatoes cooked? 

Why were potato blossoms worn as ornaments in the 
days of Queen EUzabeth? 

Trace a resemblance between the leaves and the blossoms 
of the tomato and potato. 

Caution. This outline is sufficiently complete for classes 
in the intermediate grades, provided it is all used. With 
primary classes the most difficult parts should be omitted. 
These omissions may include the picture study and poem, 
the more difficult experiments, the uses of the potato which 
the children could not understand, and the geographical 
and statistical facts at the end of the lesson, 

7. A Brook Basin. Studies of this type introduce the 
pupils to the basic facts of geography, and the work, even 
though crudely done, connects the geography studies of the 
primary with those of the intermediate grades. 

- (a) Plan. Visit with the class the bank of some slope 
near the school, showing newly made gullies. If this can- 



12 Public School Methods 

not be done during school hours, go before or after school 
or at noon. But be sure that the observations are made 
before the subject is discussed in the class. Any roadside 
or street can be used after a rain, but a regular brook basin 
is better. 

(b) Method. When the place is reached, direct the 
pupils' attention to the facts you wish them to observe, 
by such questions as follow: Where are the gullies largest? 
Where are they smallest? Why are they crooked? What 
becomes of the material washed away by the rain? If the 
slope forms a part of a brook basin, continue the work for 
the purpose of bringing out the following basic geographic 
facts: 

(i) Direction. Notice the direction of the slope of the 
basin as a whole. This determines the direction in which 
the brook flows. Notice the direction of the slopes on each 
side of the basin. 

(2) Water Parting. Lead the class to discover the highest 
point in the basin, unless this is too far away. With this 
they will also discover the source of the stream. When 
these facts are determined, lead the class to discover the 
ridges, or water partings, which divide this brook basin from 
those on each side of it. 

(3) General Form. Compare the width of the valley in 
the upper part with that in the lower part. Ask the pupils 
what they think causes this difference. 

(4) Erosion. Just where is the wearing or erosion greatest? 
Which bank seems to be wearing away? Which seems to 
be building? These questions probably cannot be answered 
at once. Ask the pupils to observe certain points along 
the banks for a number of days, then to give their opinion. 

In connection with erosion explain what is meant by 
flood plain, and when the water is low ask the pupils to 
find one or more flood plains along the brook. 

To enlarge this notion, tell the children stories of great 
floods on the Mississippi, Nile, etc. Tell them how floods 
in certain streams have been prevented by planting trees. 



Geography and History 13 

(Connect this with forestry, in nature study.) Read aloud 
to the pupils a part of Tennyson's The Brook, and let them 
copy and learn a short selection from it. 

In the lesson following these observations, have the chil- 
dren make blackboard or pencil drawings illustrating what 
they saw. The very making of the drawings, however poor, 
will aid greatly in clearing their images. Sand pans, or pans 
which give the pupils a chance to model rapidly the brook 
basin, or part of it, are invaluable in such a lesson. The 
sand, moistened when needed, may be kept in any shallow 
pan, if regular sand pans are not obtainable, and used often 
to show geographic forms as no other material can show 
them. 

8. The Wind, (a) Purposes of the Lesson. The aim 
of the lesson is to impress the facts that (i) air occupies 
space; (2) wind is air in motion; (3) winds have important 
work to do. 

(b) Preparation or Introduction. 

Great, wide, beautiful world, 
With the wonderful water around you curled, 
And the wonderful grass upon your breast — 
World, you are beautifully dressed. 

The wonderful air is over me. 
And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree; 
It walks on the water and whirls the mills. 
And talks to itself on the tops of the hills. 

(c) Presentation. Experiments. Push an empty bottle, 
bottom upward, into water. Why did the bottle not fill 
with water? Push an empty bottle or drinking glass into 
water with the open end up. Why did not the bottle fill 
more quickly? The water could not enter the bottle until 
it pushed the air out. Air occupies space. 

Direct attention to hot air above the stove, register, etc. 
When air is warmed, it is expanded, made lighter, and is 
pushed up by the current of heavy, cool air. Air in motion 
is called wind. 



14 Public School Methods 

High and low 

The spring winds blow! 

They take the kites that the boys have made, 

And carry them off high into the air; 

They snatch the little girls' hats away, 

And toss and tangle their flowing hair. 

(d) Suggestive Questions. From which direction is the 
wind blowing today? In what way does spring differ from 
winter? What work has the wind to do in the spring? 
(Melt the ice and snow; bring rain clouds; awaken life in 
seeds, roots, buds, etc.; drive clouds away.) What work 
has the wind to do in autumn? (Shake down nuts; scatter 
seeds, etc.) Name other uses of the wind. (Drive sailing 
vessels; turn windmills; carry water over the land.) Which 
wind brings rain? Which wind brings cold? Which wind 
brings heat? Which wind brings flowers? 

(e) The Four Winds. Have the children learn this 
poem. It can be recited in concert: 

"Which is the wind that brings the cold?" 
"The North wind, Freddy, and all the snow; 

And the sheep will scamper into the fold, 

When the North begins to blow." 



'Which is the wind that brings the heat?" 
'The South wind, Katy; and com will grow, 

And peaches redden for you to eat, 

When the South begins to blow." 

'Which is the wind that brings the rain?" 
'The East wind, Arty; and farmers know 

That cows come shivering up the lane. 

When the East begins to blow." 

'Which is the wind that brings the flowers?" 
'The West wind, Bessie; and soft and low 

The birdies sing in the summer hours, 

When the West begins to blow." 

Edmund Clarence Stedman. 



Geography and History 15 

(f) Selections for Memorizing. 

Sing a song of Seasons! 
Something bright in all! 
Flowers in the summer, 
Fires in the fall, 

Robert Louis Stevenson. 

O, March that blusters and March that blows, 
What color under your footsteps glows! 
Beauty you summon from winter snows, 
And you are the pathway that leads to the rose. 

Celia Thaxter. 

Song: SWEET and low 

Sweet and low, sweet and low, 

Wind of the western sea. 
Low, low, breathe and blow. 

Wind of the western sea! 
Over the rolling waters go. 
Come from the dying moon, and blow. 

Blow him again to me; 
While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps. 

Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, 

Father will come to thee soon; 
Rest, rest, on mother's breast. 

Father will come to thee soon; 
Father will come to his babe in the nest, 
Silver sails all out of the west 

Under the silver moon: 
Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep. 

Tennyson. 

THE wind 

I saw you toss the kites on high 

And blow the birds about the sky; 
And all around I heard you pass. 
Like ladies' skirts across the grass — 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song! 



16 Public School Methods 

I saw the different things you did, 
But always you yourself you hid. 
I felt you push, I heard you call, 
I could not see yourself at all — 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song I 

O you that are so strong and cold, 
O blower, are you young or old? 
Are you a beast of field and tree, 
Or just a stronger child than me? 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song! 

Robert Louis Stevenson. 

(g) Stories. Orpheus, a myth of the South Wind; The 

Wind and the Sun; The Bay of Winds. 

Whichever way the wind doth blow. 
Some heart is glad to have it so. 
Then blow it east, or blow it west, 
The wind that blows, that wind is best. 

(h) Hand Work. Cut, draw and paint windmills, 
kites, etc. 

9. Ostrich Farming. 

The fleet-footed ostrich, over the waste, 

Speeds like a horseman who travels in haste 

Hieing away to the home of her rest 

Where she and her mate have scooped out their nest. 

(a) The Ostrich, (i) Description. The ostrich is the 
largest and most valuable of all birds. This awkward, 
ungainly bird has an oval-shaped body, bare legs, rudi- 
mentary wings, long, bare neck, small, flat head, large eyes, 
and short, wide bill. A full grown bird will weigh from 350 
to 450 pounds, stand eight feet high, and can reach up easily 
to the height of ten or twelve feet to get oranges or other 
fruits. Its strides, when running, are about 22 feet, and 
it can outrun the swiftest horse. Its voice is deep, hollow, 
and not easily distinguished from that of the lion. It makes 



Geography and History 111 

a cackling sound, and when in the act of striking it hisses 
loudly. It has enormous muscles and can kick as hard as 
a horse. It kicks forward and downward, and has been 
known to kill large beasts with a single stroke. The ostrich 
lives from sixty to seventy years, and some birds have 
reached the age of one hundred years. 

(2) The Food. The food consists principally of alfalfa, 
grain and vegetables. Ostriches are fond of oranges, apples, 
sand and gravel. The chicks are very delicate and eat noth- 
ing for the first four days. They are then fed chopped 
alfalfa, mixed with ground egg shells, and later soaked 
bran, com, gravel, etc. 

(3) Nest and Eggs. The nest is made by the male bird 
scooping out a shallow spot in the sand. The hen lays at 
the rate of one egg every other day until fifteen or eighteen 
have been deposited. The birds take turns in sitting upon 
the eggs, the male bird at night and the female during the 
daytime. The sitting lasts for six weeks. An ostrich egg 
is about thirty times as large as a hen's egg, and weighs 
three or more pounds. The eggs are not only used for food 
but the shells are made into spoons, ladles and various 
other articles. 

(b) Ostrich Taming. Ostrich taming began about fifty 
years ago. A man in South Africa captured some wild 
chicks and after feeding and watching them for a time, he 
decided that ostriches could be reared and their feathers 
plucked and sold at a great profit 

(c) Ostrich Farms. Large ostrich farms are at present 
established in different countries, as South Africa, Egypt, 
and the United States. In Cape Colony there are more than 
a quarter of a million ostriches cared for, and several million 
dollars' worth of feathers are yearly shipped from the Cape 
of Good Hope to London. This industry was estabHshed 
in the United States about twenty-five years ago. Great 
progress has been made during the past five years, and today 
thousands of ostriches are reared on farms in Florida, 
Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona and California. 



Ig Public School Methods 

(d) The Cawston Farm, This farm is situated in South 
Pasadena, and is considered one of the most beautiful spots 
in southern CaHfomia. It is surrounded with Hve oaks, 
orange trees, palms, roses, and all forms of tropical verdure. 
Here the visitor may see the ostrich feather industry from 
the beginning to the end — ostriches of all ages, ranging 
from one to eight feet in height; ostrich incubators where 
the yoimg chicks are hatched; the factory where skilled 
workers manufacture beautiful feather goods, such as fans, 
boas, stoles, hat plumes, and all sorts of novelties made 
from feathers. 

(e) Plucking. The first plucking takes place when the 
bird is about nine months old, and afterwards about 
three times every two years during the bird's life. The 
bird to be clipped is driven into a triangular enclosure, 
and a hood is drawn over its head. Then the two 
pluckers raise the wings and clip off the wing plumes 
first, twenty-five from each wing; those of the male are 
white and black, and those of the female white, tipped 
with gray or yellow. About three hundred feathers are 
taken from each bird. Plucking does not injure the bird 
nor cause pain. Ladies can wear ostrich plumes without 
feeling that in so doing they cause injury or pain to the 
birds. 

(f) Items of Interest, (i) The chief ostrich-feather 
country of the world today is South Africa. Several hun- 
dred thousand pounds of feathers are now annually sent 
from Cape Colony to London, and many are shipped to our 
markets from Arizona and California, 

(2) In London there are feather auctions every two or 
three months. 

(3) Almost all the wild ostriches have been destroyed, 
and their feathers have at present but a small part in the 
world's commerce. 

(4) The famous ostrich plumes, which grow anew in a 
few months after cutting, sell from a dollar or two to two 
himdred dollars apiece, according to size and quality. 



Geography and History Id 

(5) Three white ostrich plvimes form the badge of the 
Prince of Wales. 

(6) The natives of Africa are fond of ostrich eggs, and 
draw them out of the nest with a long stick so that the bird 
may not smell the intruder. 

(7) Ostriches are vegetarians; a small herd will destroy 
a good-sized cornfield in a single night. 

(8) Africa is this bird's favorite home. On a good farm 
one hundred dollars' worth of feathers is obtained from a 
bird in a year. 

(9) In the Zoological Gardens near Paris are some fine 
ostriches which are often harnessed to children's carriages. 

(10) The South American ostrich is about half as large 
as the African. It has three toes and no tail feathers. The 
African ostrich has two toes and the feathers are far more 
valuable than those of the South American bird. 

(11) The ostriches in the United States were brought 
from Africa. 

10. Reviews. Type studies are excellent for reviews, 
especially when the subject has been pursued in a some- 
what disconnected manner, as frequently happens in follow- 
ing the plan of the text -book in primary geography. By 
preparing outlines for the pupils to use in studying their 
review lessons, all related topics can thus be connected. In 
the review of the Mississippi Basin, one outline would take 
up the study of the main river from source to mouth ; another 
would treat of the tributaries; a third, the nature of the 
country; a fourth, the industries in the basin; a fifth, the 
cities, and so on until each topic covered in the study had 
been treated. Finally, the relation of all these topics to 
one another should be shown. 

Caution. In order to obtain the most far-reaching results 
from the study of types, the general plan should be care- 
fully formed and should include such a period of time as 
a term or a school year. The subjects selected should be 
of such a nature as to enable the class to obtain a con- 
nected idea of the leading facts of geography of their own 



20 Public School Methods 

county or city, according to the plan that the teacher has 
in mind. For the higher grades the plan will, of course, 
be much more extended than for the primary grades. 

Studies of this nature should also be followed in the higher 
grades by the thorough and systematic study of a text- 
book. 

11. Work for the First and Second Grades, (a) Plants 
AND Animals. The geography work of the first and second 
grades is along the line of nature study. In giving her 
lessons on plants and animals, the teacher should con- 
stantly bear in mind the relation that these lessons sustain 
to the geography of the higher grades. The geography 
phases of such lessons consist in having the pupils ascertain 
where the plants grow. Are they found on high or low 
land? In dry soil or wet soil? What are they used for by 
man? How do animals use them? The answers to such 
questions as these bring out the facts that birds use portions 
of some plants in building their nests; that they use the 
seeds of plants for food, that squirrels eat nuts and acorns, 
and that rabbits feed upon clover, the young shoots of 
shrubs and the bark of young trees. The children will dis- 
cover that some plants will grow only in low, wet groimd, 
while others require high land and a dry soil. They will 
also learn that some animals burrow in the ground; some 
make nests in the trunks of trees, while birds build their 
nests in various places. 

In treating of the uses of plants and animals to man, 
only those uses should be mentioned that the children 
already know and can easily understand, such as the use 
of com and wheat for food and the use of cotton fiber for 
clothing. The work should be made very simple and con- 
fined to the immediate locality. For more specific plans, 
see directions for nature study in the two lessons devoted 
to that subject. 

(b) Study of the Weather. Even the yoimgest chil- 
dren can be easily interested in the weather. They all love 
the sunshine, and many of them enjoy the rain and the 



Geography and History 



n 




DESIGN FOR BLACKBOARD CALENDAR 



snow. One of the most interesting and effective methods 
is to construct a weather calendar somewhat after the plan 
shown on this page. The calendar may be drawn upon the 
board, or upon a large sheet of manila paper, if board room 



22 



Public School Methods 



is scarce, and the weather by which each month is char- 
acterized indicated by drawing a picture at the top. A more 
elaborate calendar can be made for the week by drawing 
a picture in the square for each day. The illustration below 
gives an idea for a rainy Monday, a windy Tuesday and 




a hot Wednesday in summer. Again, the pictures may be 
colored or the squares washed in with color — yellow or blue 
for sunshine, gray for clouds, and black for rains or other 
storms. If the calendar is large and the teacher or some 
pupil in the school can do the work, much interest is added 
by sketching into each square some event of the day. 

In the second grade, and especially in the last half of 
the year, the attention of the children should be called to 
the sky, leading them to notice the different forms of clouds 
and the rising and setting of the sun, though only the simplest 
facts connected with these phenomena should be dwelt upon. 

Plant charts are also interesting. A plant chart for May 
would include the plants found blossoming in May; it might 
give merely the names, or the names, pictures and dates 
when the flowers were first seen. A plant chart might include 
also the seed and root of each kind of plant. For the first 
and second grades the chart should be simple, like the illus- 
tration on page 24. 

(c) The Study of Material. The pupils in these grades 
should be made acquainted with the various materials in 
common use, such as wool, cotton, iron, brick, stone, lumber 



Geography and History 23 

and asphalt. To these, if time permits, many of the com- 
modities used in the home may be added, such as tea, coffee, 
sugar and spices. This is excellent work for the winter 
months, and can take the place of the lessons in nature 
study that occupy the fall and spring. The work should 
be made very simple, and the children asked to make collec- 
tions of material. They should learn to recognize the 
different materials from their appearance; be able to dis- 
tinguish cotton from wool, iron from lead and other metals 
from one another. 

It is not wise at this time to ask the children to dis- 
tinguish different kinds of wood, as this requires too minute 
a study. The children will be interested in learning what 
parts of the plant or animal or other material are used, as 
the fiber of the cotton plant, the trunk of the tree for lumber, 
and also what substances are used in manufacturing such 
building material as brick and cement. The teacher should 
be guided in these lessons by the ability of the class to com- 
prehend the work and by the time at her disposal. The 
danger is that too much will be attempted. 

12. Work for the Third Grade, (a) Nature Study. In 
the beginning of the year the geography of the third grade 
is a continuation of and an enlargement upon the nature 
study of the second grade. The difference, however, lies 
in the fact that the geography becomes more prominent 
and the nature study less so. 

The pupils should now begin a systematic study of home 
geography. A number of topics can be considered during 
the year. The extent to which each can be carried will 
depend upon the ability of the class and upon the time 
at the teacher's disposal. Usually, more can be accomplished 
in a graded school than in a rural school where the teacher 
is compelled to have a large number of recitations each day. 
In connection with the study of plants this year, the chil- 
dren should have their attention called to soil and rocks, 
and the relation of one to the other. A little attention to 
this matter on the part of the teacher will soon enable the 



24 



Public School Methods 




SPRING FLOWERS 



pupils to understand how soil is formed, and the brightest 
ones will often be able to tell why the soils in the valley 
and on an adjoining hillside are frequently different. 



Geography and History 25 

(b) Maps. In this grade the children should begin the 
study of maps. This is best introduced by having the class 
draw a map of the schoolroom. The first map should be 
drawn by the teacher and class together. Before the lesson 
is completed, the children should understand what is meant 
by scale; also what part of the map is always used for a 
given direction, as the top for the north, the right hand 
for the east. After the map has been drawn by the pupils 
and teacher together, it should then be drawn by the class 
without the aid of the teacher. In due course of time a 
map of the schoolroom should be followed by one of the 
school grounds. Later in the year this exercise can usually 
be extended with profit to the sketching of a map of the 
neighborhood. 

If the school is situated in the midst of a large town, 
only a small section of the town, including the block in 
which the school is located, and possibly an adjoining block, 
should be included in the map. Teachers frequently make 
mistakes in requiring pupils of this grade to construct a 
map of a city or town, the work required being altogether 
too complicated. In rural schools, the older pupils of 
this grade ought to be able in the latter part of the year 
to construct maps of the farms on which they live. An 
exercise of this kind always lends interest because of its 
variety. 

(c) Climate. The weather study of the primary grades 
should be extended in the third grade to include observa- 
tions on the climate. These lessons should include a study 
of the seasons and their length and characteristics, also the 
months in which each season occurs. Each season should 
be characterized by the kind of weather which predominates. 
Summer is hot and winter is cold; autumn is warm and 
grows cold, while the spring is cool and grows warmer until 
it merges into summer. 

The length of day and night at different seasons of the 
year should also be noticed. Pupils of this grade should 
be led to watch the position of the sun on the horizon at 



26 Public School Methods 

sunset. "While they will be unable to see any change in its 
position from one day to another, by comparing it with 
some fixed object which is between them and the horizon, 
such as a tree or a building, in the course of a month they 
will discover that the sun has changed its position quite a 
little, and in the course of a season they will be able to note 
the change which relates to the difference in the length of 
day and night. The pupils should be led to study the moon 
and learn its different phases. Children of this grade can 
also be taught to locate the north star by its position in 
relation to the Great Dipper. These lessons lead them to 
an interest in the heavenly bodies which, as the years go 
on, will increase and enable them to derive much pleasure 
from the study of the sky. 

In connection with the study of the seasons and the 
formation of soils, the work of water should be considered; 
how the rains wash the soil down into the valleys, wearing 
little valleys in the banks by the roadsides and in other 
places; how the evaporation of water forms steam or invis- 
ible vapor, according to the condition of the atmosphere, 
and how the rapid freezing and thawing of water crumbles 
the rocks and assists in the formation of soil. The forma- 
tion of frost and dew and snow should also be treated. If 
only the simplest and most obvious facts are touched upon 
in these lessons, they can be made very interesting and will 
give the pupils much valuable information. 

(d) Surface. The children already know what hills 
and valleys are, and if they live in a mountainous locahty 
they know the difference between a hill and a mountain, 
but probably they have never had their attention called 
to the relation which these different surface forms sustain 
to one another. They should now begin a systematic study 
of surface. In this way only the leading features of the 
locality should be considered, as the highest hills, the deepest 
valleys, the largest streams. Later, the study can be extended 
to the more minute features. These lessons furnish excellent 
material for developing the descriptive powers of the chil- 



Geography and History 27 

dren and are valuable aids in language work as well as in 
geography. 

(e) Drainage. In connection with surface, the atten- 
tion of the children should be directed to important streams. 
They should be led to discover for themselves, if possible, 
why the streams flow in a given direction. It is not wise 
to follow this topic too far. For illustration, if the principal 
river nearest to the school is long, like the Illinois or the 
Mississippi, it is not wise to make a complete study of this 
river at this time, following it to its mouth and treating 
of its tributaries. Instead, make a study of one tributary 
as a type. 

(f) Products. These should include the principal 
products of the locality. They are usually divided into 
agricultural, mineral and manufactured. In Iowa this line 
of study will generally lead to a study of com and dairy 
products. In Illinois it will lead to the study of grain, coal, 
and in some localities, numerous manufactures. In the 
selection of types, the teacher will be guided almost entirely 
by the locality. 

(g) Occupations. What has been said in respect to 
the selection of topics in products applies here. In con- 
nection with these topics the pupils should be led to see 
the necessity for different occupations; as, why one man 
is a farmer, another a blacksmith, another a merchant, 
and to realize the dependence that the various occupations 
of the community have upon one another. 

(h) Means of Travel. This includes a study of roads 
and railroads in the immediate locality, and, if upon a 
navigable river or other body of water, the boat lines. This 
should not be carried too far. In the study of railroads 
in this grade it is usually safe to stop with the nearest impor- 
tant railroad center located upon the line. In the study 
of roads it is usually safe to stop with the largest town to 
which the road leads. 

(i) Public Buildings. These include the school, 
churches, courthouse and any other large buildings within 



28 Public School Methods 

the locality studied. The reason for the existence of these 
buildings and their location can be profitably discussed. It 
is not well at this time to enter into their means of support. 

(j) Course of Study. Wherever the teacher finds an 
established course of study it should, as far as possible, be 
followed. If carefully prepared, such a course will cover 
the ground outlined above, and it will also prepare the 
pupils for the text-book to be used in the next grade. 

(k) Preparation for the Text-Book. In most schools 
the primary geography is introduced in the fourth grade. 
The teacher of the third grade should become thoroughly 
acquainted with this book, and so plan her work that at 
the end of the year the pupils will be prepared to study 
the text-book intelligently. 

13. Suggestive Lessons for Primary Pupils, (a) Snow. 
Description; whence the snow comes; cause of snow; study 
or snow crystals; uses of snow. 

A good time for this lesson is during the first snowstorm. 
As a preparation for the simple explanation of the cause 
of snow, the evaporation of water and its presence in the 
air may be shown by leaving a small dish of water in the 
room until the water evaporates. 

(b) The Sun. Have a simple description given by the 
class ; call attention to the rising and setting, and the change 
in place of rising and setting as observed by the pupils. 
Give a simple explanation of the change of the sun's posi- 
tion. Have the pupils measure the sun's shadow each day 
at noon and draw conclusions. Discuss the value of the sun. 

(c) Occupations. Enumerate and describe various 
occupations according to the season; as, harvesting crops 
in autumn, cutting ice in winter and planting com in spring. 

14. Suggestive Lessons for Third Grade, (a) Market 
Gardening, i. Preparation. Name the kinds of vegetables 
found in the markets and the places from which these vege- 
tables come. 

2. Visit to a Market Garden. Make a study of hotbeds; 
purpose, construction, location and use. Describe trans- 



Geography and History 29 

planting; also the care of fields. Explain the method of 
getting produce to the city. 

In the discussion following this excursion, the teacher 
may show pictures of other market gardens, city streets 
where this produce is sold, wagon loads of vegetables being 
taken to the city and market gardens and workers in 
foreign countries where market gardening is carried on 
extensively. 

(b) Visit to a Creamery. Make observations upon 
and have the recitation include such topics as taking the 
milk to the creamery; weighing the milk; separating the 
cream from the milk; skimmed milk; churning; buttermilk; 
working the butter; salting and packing butter; the quantity 
of butter obtained from a certain quantity of milk; care 
of the creamery; milk inspection by officials. Compare this 
method of making butter with butter-making in private 
homes. Obtain pictures of various chums and separators, 
men weighing the milk, etc. 

(c) Farming. Have the pupils understand what a farm 
is. Observe various sizes of farms ; kinds of soil ; crops raised ; 
care of fields. Study the work done in each season of the 
year; identify machinery, tools, buildings. What becomes 
of the produce? Discuss the importance of farming, and 
compare it with other occupations. 

A visit to a near-by farm should be made, if possible. 

(d) Foods. Meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. 

Each of these topics should be taken up separately, some- 
what in the following manner: 

Fruits. Enumerate the various kinds familiar to the 
pupils; notice the place from which each comes and how 
it is brought to market; how it is produced; the industries 
involved in its production, and its value. 

Every kind of fruit cannot be studied in detail, but one 
or two kinds should be studied as types, while the rest can 
be briefly mentioned. The study of foodstuffs may be made 
intensely interesting by means of pictures, vivid descrip- 
tions and stories. 



30 Public School Methods 

HISTORY 

15. Relation of Geography to History. Geography and 
history are so interwoven that it is not possible to teach 
one to any extent without introducing the other. This is 
illustrated by the study of means of travel suggested under 
Section 12 (h). However, the history work of the third 
grade should be limited to such incidents and biographies 
as the work in reading and geography touch upon, with 
the addition of simple biographies of Bible characters, Greek 
heroes and American patriots, when opportunity offers. 
Such material as is found in Stories of Great Americans for 
Little Americans affords a good illustration of subject-matter 
suitable for this grade. If the book can be placed in the 
hands of the children in the latter part of the year, the 
stories can be read; if the book is not available, the stories 
can be told by the teacher. 

The reading lessons will doubtless lead to the discussion 
of Indian life, and possibly the life of other primitive peoples. 
If so, such lessons should be given on these topics as will 
give the children a good idea of the people tmder discussion. 
The illustrative lessons given below show how these and 
similar topics may be treated. 

16. Modes of Travel, (a) Purpose of Lesson. The 
aim of the lesson is to have the child see how our present 
means of traveling have developed from those most prim- 
itive; how our convenient transportation is the outgrowth 
of the observations and inventions of the savage, barbarian 
and other peoples, ages before us. 

(b) Method. Let the child tell what he would do along 
the line of travel, under certain conditions. Show how 
necessity caused each improvement. As the story is told, 
write it on the blackboard and illustrate primitive means. 
Make yourself draw at the board. Have the children draw 
each story on the blackboard; also write on paper the stories 
of the different inventions. Write unfamiliar words on the 
board. Pictures of some of these modes of travehng may 
be found in common geographies, Webster's Dictionary, etc. 



Geography and History 31 

(c) Objects for Study, (i) Steam engine of today — 
story of Robert Fulton; (2) steamboat; (3) bicycles; (4) 
horseless carriages or automobiles. Make a word picture 
of the future, with the mention of possible inventions. 

(d) History. Man first traveled on foot; he saw wood 
float on water; he wished to fish or cross streams and used 
(i) a log; (2) a raft of logs; (3) a raft with sides of logs; 
(4) the hollow trunk of a tree; (5) wood burned hollow for 
canoes, as he had done for cooking utensils; he learned that 
light boats were better than heavy ones and (6) used bark; 
then (7) bark and skins, making what we know as the canoe. 
He wished to go down the river and take his family a long 
distance, and so made a raft or boat with a straw top for 
shelter, shaping it like a roof, with screens of straw. He 
became tired after much rowing, and he also wished to go 
faster. Then he saw the effect of wind on the boat, on 
himself and on broad, flat surfaces, and invented the sail- 
boat. After many improvements on the sailboat and hun- 
dreds of years of its use, the use of steam was discovered; 
then followed countless inventions and improvements on 
the steamboat. 

On the desert the camel was used. The camel could do 
without water tor a long time; the sand and heat would 
not unfit him for work, and it was good for traveling and 
carrying burdens. 

In the mountainous countries the donkey was used, as 
he was sure-footed, slow and easily fed. 

In the cold countries man used snowshoes, sledges and 
dogs, for these would help him to slide easily over the snow. 

In southern countries the palanquin and sedan-chair were 
used, as well as slaves and jinrikishas, as aids in traveling. 

In many countries the wheelbarrow was used for trans- 
portation. 

First there were wheels without spokes, made of solid 
wood, soon followed by inventions of spokes and tires; 
then came ox-carts, coaches and carriages. Ox-carts with 
rude, spokeless wheels are still used in some countries. 



32 Public School Methods 

There was a great length of time between the invention of 
coaches, street cars and steam cars; then came improve- 
ments on steam engines, and finally the use of electricity- 
was discovered. Make clear the advantages of our present 
means of transportation. 

17. Indian Life: The Story of Hiawatha, (a) Introduction. 
Hiawatha, a little Indian boy, lived with his grandmother, 
Nokomis, in a wigwam by the shining Big Sea Water. In front 
of the wigwam were the waters Gitche Gumee, and behind 
rose the dark and gloomy forest of pine and fir trees. 

Nokomis was old, and she took care of little Hiawatha. 
His cradle was made from a linden tree. It was bedded 
with soft moss and rushes and was very soft and comfortable. 
Sometimes while Hiawatha was in his cradle in the wigwam 
he was very fretful, and Nokomis would say to him, " Hush, 
the Bear will hear thee." She then called him a little owlet 
and stilled his wail by singing "Ewa-yea! my little owlet." 
(See Indian Lullaby, Volume One, page 194.) 

Nokomis taught Hiawatha about the stars and northern 
lights, the water, the forest, the birds and other animals. 
As Hiawatha and his grandmother sat at the door of their 
wigwam in the evening, they often thought of the shining 
lights in the heavens and of the sounds of the trees, which 
seemed to say, "Minnewawa!" 

One day as Hiawatha stood at the door of the wigwam, 
he noticed many beautiful colors in the sky, and Nokomis 
then told him the story of the rainbow. The flowers of the 
forest and shore are very beautiful, because they are of many 
colors. While they fade on earth, they do not perish. They 
blossom in the rainbow, which is the heaven of the flowers. 

Hiawatha loved the birds, and he soon learned their 
language. He called them his little chickens. He soon 
learned the language of the beavers and how they built 
their lodges; where the squirrels hid the acorns; how the 
reindeer ran so swiftly, and why the rabbit was so timid. 

lagoo, who had been a great traveler, often visited Hia- 
watha. He taught him many things, among them how to 



Geography and History 33 

use the bow and arrow. Hiawatha went hunting one day 
and killed a deer. Later they had a feast, and a coat was 
made for Hiawatha of the skin. 

(b) The Indian's Dress. The way the Indians dress 
depends on where they live, and also upon the civilization. 
Near the Colorado River in Arizona, the woman in some 
of the tribes made skirts of the inner bark of the cotton- 
wood trees, and the lower ends of the strips of bark, reach- 
ing below the knees, were often split to resemble fringe. 

One of the first changes in the costumes of Indians made 
after coming in contact with civilization was the lengthen- 
ing of the women's skirts. A great many of the Indians 
still wrap their highly colored blankets around them. Some 
of these blankets are called Navajo blankets. We use them 
on our cots. 

Their shoes are called moccasins, and some of them are 
made from the fibers of the Yucca, while others are of skin 
covered with beads. Some wear sandals, which are fastened 
to their feet by thongs. The Mexican Indians wear cotton 
and other fibers. Mantles and other forms of apparel also 
appear to have been in use, while feather robes were not 
uncommon. These, however, were ceremonial, and indic- 
ative of rank. 

The Indians are very fond of jewelry, such as necklaces, 
beads, earrings, etc. Painting is common to all Indians. 
As a general rule, they applied red coloring matter to the 
line exposed by parting the hair, and the women and girls 
frequently colored their cheeks red to enhance their beauty. 

(c) The Houses. Most of the Indians lived in tents, 
which they called wigwams. The outside was usually decor- 
ated with paintings. As the Indians of North America were 
and are living in several different stages of culture, their 
architecture would naturally present a wide range of house 
structure. Indian house structure may be divided accord- 
ing to the material of which the houses are made, into four 
groups; first, temporary or bark shelters, and skin tents; 
second, wooden structures; third, earth huts with a frame- 



S4 Public School Methods 

work of timber, and snow huts; fourth, the permanent 
stone structures. 

They really have no furniture, as they always sit on the 
ground. Their beds are on the grotmd. The cooking is 
done out of doors over a fire. Three sticks are put in the 
ground a certain distance apart, forming a triangular space 
at the bottom. These come together at the top and are 
fastened securely. The kettle is hung from this, and a fire 
is built tmder it. The Indians have an easy life, working 
very little. 

(d) The Indian Baby. The Indian baby, called a pap- 
poose, is very interesting. It is put in a cradle most beauti- 
fully made by its mother. It takes a great deal of time 
and work to weave the grasses and other materials, to put 
on the beads and make it look pretty for the pappoose. 
The Indian baby is laid upon a board and fastened to it 
on his back. This board is hung in a tree and the baby 
is very happy. The Indian mother is as fond of her baby 
as the white mother is of hers. The board that the baby 
is fastened to is covered with soft skins. 

In our nursery rhymes we read of a certain " Baby Bunt- 
ing, whose father went a-hunting, to fetch a rabbit skin 
to wrap the Baby Bunting in." This is what the Indian 
does. He finds deer skins or matting, or soft bark from 
trees when he cannot get skins, and the mother stuffs the 
little cradle with soft grass or moss. The Indian baby is 
very comfortable, and he will cry to go back to his cradle. 

(e) Work. The Indian women work and the men fish, 
fight, htmt, etc. The boy is spoiled, doing just as he pleases. 
He has no toys except a ball and a kite. His instincts are 
destructive, killing birds or snaring them, and robbing their 
nests; yet with all this want of education, the boy finds 
much of his experience very useful. 

The Indian girl helps her mother in many ways. She 
embroiders, sews skins of animals, and decorates many 
articles with beads. The girl's play house with their dolls. 
They imitate the ways of their elders. 



Geography and History 35 

The Indians are a very interesting class of people to 
study. Years ago they were at war most of the time. Now 
they are more peaceful and imitate civilized people. 

(f) Modes of Transportation. In the absence of 
wheeled vehicles, transportation by land during the sum- 
mer months was on the backs of men and women. The 
dog lent a meager aid as a pack animal, carrying about one- 
hundred pounds. In winter sledges drawn by dogs and 
men were the primitive bearers of burden. The first pas- 
senger train of the continent was a procession of Indian 
women with their children strapped on their backs on cradle 
boards. The canoe of birch bark was also used. 

(g) Indian Amusements. The Indian home life is a 
constant round of dancing, feasting and playing games. 
Some of the dances, formerly common, had no special signif- 
icance; some were religious, others of a pantomimic or 
dramatic character. Throwing or shooting at a target with 
tomahawk, knife, bow and arrow, and later with guns or pistols, 
was much practised. There were numerous games played 
with bones. Among the boys, shooting with the bow and 
arrow, walking upon stilts, throwing stones from slings, 
were common amusements. 

18. Books for Teachers. Besides periodicals, three classes 
of books are valuable to the teacher of geography — books 
of travel, books suitable for the pupils to read and books 
on methods of teaching the subject. Those of the first and 
second classes are so numerous that no list of them is 
attempted, but a few of those most helpful to the teacher 
are here given: 

Seven Little Sisters; Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to Now. 
Jane Andrews. Ginn & Co., Chicago. 

Home Geography. H. W. Fairbanks. Educational Publishing 
Co., Chicago. 

Child and Nature. Alexander Frye. Ginn &. Co., Chicago. 

The Science Primer; The Teaching of Geography. Archibald 
Geikie. American Book Co., Chicago. 

Methods and Aids in Teaching Geography. Charles F. King. 
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Boston. 



36 Public School Methods 

The Jungle Book. Rudyard Kipling. The Century Company, 
New York. 

Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard. Mary and Elizabeth Kirby. 
A. Flanagan Co., Chicago. 

The New Basis of Geography. Jacques W. Redway. The Mac- 
millan Co., Chicago. 

Great American Industries. W. F. Rocheleau. A. Flanagan Co., 
Chicago; Vol. I: Minerals; Vol. II: Products of the Soil; Vol. Ill: 
Manufactures. 

Geography of Commerce and Industry. W. F. Rocheleau. Educa- 
tional Publishing Co. 

Little Children of the Cold. Frederick Schwatka. Cassell & Co., 
New York. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

1. What attention should be given to geography in the 
first and second grades? Give reasons for yotir answer. 

2. What preparation should the teacher make for teach- 
ing geography in the primary grades? 

3. Show by illustration how ability to draw aids the 
teacher in primary geography. Explain how it aids the 
pupils. 

4. Why does the teacher of geography in the primary 
grades need to read current periodicals? 

5. Give an outline of a lesson for a class in the second 
grade, based on an excurison to a brook or creek. 

6. Why is the study of types especially suited to the 
work in geography? What dangers must the teacher avoid 
in pursuing this line of work? 

7. Give your opinion of the value of the study of maps 
in the third grade. What do you expect the pupils to gain 
from this study? 

8. Give an outline for a lesson in the third grade, based 
upon the study of Lake Superior as a type. 

9. What relation does the geography work in the third 
grade bear to the language work in this grade? 

10. Why does the study of biographies, history stories 
and the study of primitive life in third grade aid the work 
in geography in this grade? Give an illustration. 



LESSON THIRTEEN 

CONSTRUCTION WORK 

INTRODUCTION 

1. Educational Value. The educational value of con- 
structive work lies in the doing, not in the results obtained; 
in the working together of hand and brain, and in the power 
and consciousness of power thereby gained. If the method of 
approach is reasonable and the requirements are suited to the 
abilities of the child, the results will take care of themselves. 

2. Adaptability of the Course. A course in construction 
may be outlined for one system of schools that would be 
poorly adapted to another system, owing to variation in 
environment, interests, materials available, and time allotted. 
Hence, this lesson contains a series of suggestive exercises 
possible for use in many localities, but suggested in such 
a way as to be adaptable to any conditions. This accounts 
for a choice being allowed in some instances, and for the 
use of inexpensive material that is easily obtained. 

3. Materials. The materials needed for these exercises 
are sharp-pointed scissors, white dodger, that is, unprinted 
newspaper, tag board, cardboard, construction paper such 
as may be procured from school supply houses, white draw- 
ing paper, heavy manila paper, tissue paper, raffia, checked 
gingham, carpet warp or other soft, strong twine, water 
color paints or colored crayons, and paste. Substitutes 
for many of these would be possible, when necessary. 

For book covers, bogus paper is useful, but plain-toned 
wall papers are suitable, coming as they do in soft browns, 
green and grays. A fifteen-cent roll will carry out several 
exercises for a school of forty pupils. Stained manila papers 
may be employed, also, using as stains strong coffee, the 
juices from boiled beets, red cabbage, carrots, greens, onions, 
nut husks and other vegetable products. Experiments will 
produce many desirable tones. 
37 



38 Public School Methods 

4. Relative Value of Results. In hand work the aim 
is not to produce a series of models for the sake of the models 
themselves, but rather to develop the power to do and to 
progress through adequate effort. The pupil's gain is judged 
by his effort and progress, rather than by what he constructs. 
Effort and progress will be tested by the product from the 
conceptual and technical standpoints. In lower grades the 
method of work is much less important, but later it is 
demanded by the child himself, as he begins to realize his 
limitations. Give the child what he can do reasonably well, 
but permit progress by increasing the difficulty of the exer- 
cises according to his ability. 

5. The Teacher's Preparation. This work is of such 
nature that it can be done by any teacher in any school, pro- 
vided the teacher is interested in construction work, and 
is willing to take the necessary time to prepare the exercises. 

The first step in this preparation consists in doing the 
work which you are to ask the pupils to do. Unless you 
have had extended experience in work of this nature, 
so that you can make the various articles before the class 
with ease and skill, this preliminary practice is absolutely 
necessary to your success. Nothing will so quickly dis- 
courage the children as to find the teacher unable to give 
easily and skilfully the assistance they require. While 
the pupils should be led to do the work themselves, and as 
far as possible to discover the best way of doing it, they 
arrive at stages in their progress where demonstration by 
the teacher is necessary to success. 

In your study of this lesson you should also do the work 
called for under each exercise. 

The second step in this preparation will be the collection 
and arranging of material. This should be provided and 
prepared for use before the first lesson is attempted. If 
you wish to have the children interested and enthusiastic, 
see that they begin the work under favorable conditions. 
The expense for the material described is merely nominal, 
and, with rare exceptions, the school authorities will allow 



Construction Work 89 

you to purchase what is needed. Scissors, coloring material 
and some of the paper called for are also used in the drawing 
lessons, so that one outfit answers largely for both purposes. 
When the material is procured, plan for its care and 
distribution so that nothing will be wasted. If the school- 
room does not contain a closed case in which the material 
can be kept, so it will be free from dust, a board box can be 
secured and fitted with a cover. When covered with cloth 
or wall paper, the box will present a pleasing appearance, 
and it can be kept in a convenient place in the schoolroom. 

FIRST YEAR 

6. Paper Cutting, (a) Material. The white dodger 
used for this work is conveniently cut 9x12 inches. This 
paper is desirable because it is easily cut, not easily torn, 
and is inexpensive. Sharp-pointed scissors of medium 
size are preferable, as the blunt-pointed scissors are too 
clumsy for use above the kindergarten. 

(b) Method. A few general rules may be formulated, 
which, if followed, will give the child the desired training. 

1. Be sure that the child has an idea and a mental image 
before he begins to cut. Secure the image from objects, 
when possible; otherwise, from pictures, but these need not 
be present when the cutting is done, provided they have 
been previously studied. 

2. Be definite as to the size of the objects and the method 
of cutting, using generally halves or quarters of the 9x12 
sheets. 

Caution. Do not allow the pupils to draw first, then 
cut on the line, for the exercise, beyond the drawing, is then 
purely mechanical. A large part of the value of paper 
cutting comes through the child's holding his mental image 
as a whole long enough to reproduce it. 

(c) Work to be Accomplished. Preliminary exercises, 
fruits, vegetables, ducks, hens, turkeys, plates, knives, 
forks, spoons and serving dishes for setting a dinner table, 
and any simple objects in which children may have become 



40 Public Scfwol Methods 

interested, in connection with other subjects, should con- 
stitute the work for the fall months. 

7. Preliminary Exercises, (a) Definitions. When the 
children just enter school, they are not accustomed to 
directed effort. They must learn to follow directions, and it 
will assist both the teacher and pupils if the latter are taught 
a few essential terms, such as edge, front, back, center, right, 
left, comer, front comers, back comers, fold, crease, from 
left to right, from back to front, and from comer to comer. 
These may be taught in connection with paper folding, 
and preliminary training in the use of the scissors may be 
included. It will require several lessons and much drill to 
secure familiarity with these terms, which must be mastered 
before much work in construction can be dictated. With 
beginning pupils in the first grade, only one or two new 
terms should be given at a lesson. 

(b) Exercises. A series of exercises is suggested here, 
in which these terms may be taught, introducing them 
gradually. 

(i) Give each child a six-inch square of paper, and con- 
duct the exercise in the following manner: 

Let the pupils trace with their fingers around the paper, 
one edge at a time. If they do not know the term edge, 
give it to them. Ask them how many edges the paper has. 
Let them find a comer by placing their fingers on a point 
where two edges meet. Ask them to count and see how 
many comers the paper has. 

Have the pupils place the paper as far away from them 
as they can on the desk, that is, at the back of the desk. 
Then have them place it as near to them on the desk as they 
can, that is, at the front of the desk. Then ask them to place 
it in the middle of the desk, that is, in the center. 

(2) Review the terms taught in the preceding lesson, 
by having some object moved about on the desk to the 
back; to the front; to the center. Review corner, by asking 
the pupils to name things which they can see that have 
comers, and to tell how many comers each object has. Direct 



Construction Work 41 

the children to place a square of paper in front of them, 
with one edge towards them. Develop the terms front and 
back, by asking the following questions: "What edge is 
towards you?" (The front edge.) "What edge is away 
from you?" (The back edge.) When these terms have been 
given and understood, you should be careful to avoid con- 
fusion in succeeding lessons by always using the terms front 
and back, rather than upper and lower or nearer and farther. 
Later in the course these other terms may be used without 
confusion, but it is safer to avoid them in the first grade. 

(3) Have the pupils place a square of paper with one 
edge toward them on the desk. Develop the terms right 
and left, by asking the pupils which is the right hand, and 
which the left hand; then teach them that the edge next 
to the right hand is the right edge, and that the edge next to 
the left hand is the left edge. Ask them to run the finger 
over the right edge, then over the left edge. Then ask them 
to show you the front edge; the back edge. Ask the chil- 
dren to compare the edges. Then ask, "Is one longer than 
the others?" "Are they all the same length?" When the 
fact that the edges are all of equal length is discovered, 
you can say to the pupils, "We call this form a square, because 
its edges are alike." 

(4) Let the pupils place a six-inch square of paper on the 
desk, with the front edge toward them. Ask them to show 
you the front edge, also the back edge. Direct them to 
take the front edge and fold it to the back edge, and hold 
it down with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand. 
Then direct them to flatten it by pressing along the fold with 
the forefinger of the right hand. If they do not know the 
term crease, explain it to them. After the paper has been 
creased, unfold it. Ask the children to tell you on which 
edge the crease begins. The answer should be, "the left 
edge." Ask them to tell you where it ends. Then teach 
the fact that the crease runs from left to right. 

Have the pupils take their scissors and hold them in the 
thumb and forefinger, ready to cut. Let them raise the 



42 Public School Methods 

paper and cut along the crease. They should point the 
scissors so as to cut the full length of the blade at every 
stroke, and it may require a number of exercises to teach 
them to do this successfully. After the sheet is cut apart, 
ask the children to compare the pieces. They should dis- 
cover that they are of the same size. 

(5) Let the children place a square of paper on the desk, 
with the edge towards them. Have them fold it as in the 
previous exercise, then crease and unfold. Ask them how 
the crease runs. The answer should be, " from left to right." 
Then ask them to turn the paper so that the crease will 
run from front to back. Ask the pupils what the paper 
looks like in this position. Some of them doubtless will 
discover that it looks like an open book. You can lend 
interest to the exercise by saying, "We will sing a song 
out of it", or, "We will play read a story from it." Let 
the children take these books home, if they desire, and 
paste some little pictures in them; then return the books 
to show you. 

(6) Have the children fold a book and place it open on 
the desk in front of them. Ask them to take the front edge, 
fold it to the back edge and crease it. Direct them to unfold 
the paper, and ask them what it looks like. Some will 
discover that it looks Hke a window. Ask the children to 
take their scissors and cut out one pane; then they may 
cut them all out. 

(7) Let the children place a six-inch square of paper on 
the desk with a comer toward them. Ask them to show 
you the front comer; the back comer. Direct them to fold 
the front comer to the back comer and crease the paper. 
Ask them to unfold and tell you where the crease begins 
and where it ends. The crease extends from comer to comer. 
Ask the children to fold the paper again on the crease. Let 
them play that this is a doll's shawl. Have the class take 
scissors and cut a fringe around the shawl. To do this, un- 
fold the paper and cut slits on each edge, making the strips 
about a quarter of an inch wide and an inch long. 



Construction Work 43 

(8) Have the pupils place a square of paper in front of 
them with the edge toward them. Direct them to fold the 
front edge half way up, so that the piece folded looks like 
the piece above it. Have them crease the paper and unfold, 
then turn the sheet around so that this crease is at the back. 
Let them fold the edge at the front to the crease. Crease 
and unfold. This gives two creases and three folds, or panels, 
in the sheet. Let the children take their scissors and cut 
the sheet into three strips along these creases; then direct 
them to cut these strips in two, lengthwise. Use these 
narrow strips to paste into links for making a chain, 

(9) From a six-inch square have the children cut as large 
a circle as possible. Call it the moon, a cake, a pie, a plate, 
or anything the children wish. While cutting, direct the 
children to turn the paper so as to assist in getting it round. 
They should not cut in short, choppy clips. Let the chil- 
dren lay this circle on their desks and cut another a little 
smaller. 

(10) Distribute to each child a six-inch square, and direct 
the children to cut it from comer to comer without folding. 
Let them place one piece with the long edge towards them, 
then fold the right comer to the left corner and crease and 
cut on this fold. Have them do the same with the other 
piece. Tell the children that you have a puzzle for them, 
and ask them to arrange the four pieces into a square. 

Caution. In general, take this work slowly. Give an 
exercise of this kind not oftener than twice a week, if the 
class seems wearied by the required concentration, 

8. Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Forms. By this time 
the children can control their scissors, but much of their 
practice has been along set creases and lines. Now we are 
ready for free expression, the child being un guided except 
by his mental image of the object to be cut; this he must 
hold in his mind as a whole while reproducing it. 

The pear and apple are good fruits to begin on, as they 
vary in form, and can be cut life size, from quarter sheets 
of 9x12 paper. This is a size particularly desirable, since 



44 



Public School Methods 



it does not fall around the hand by its own weight. If pos- 
sible, allow the pupils to handle the objects to be cut before 
attempting the cutting, as by so doing they get a better 
idea of the form and size. When the cutting begins, let 
each child cut freely. Allow any child to try again, if he sees 
any errors in the product which he wishes to correct. 

In case scissors are not available, the forms may be torn. 
In that case, rough, woolly-edged objects are easier to make, 




Kke furry animals, trees, and rougher vegetables, such as 
the carrot, the pear, and the duck. Cut only the essentials 
of the form, leaving out the tinier characteristics, like 
rootlets or details of feet, etc. See Fig. i. 

Caution. Do not force a young child into discourage- 
ment by being too critical. The size and form should 
approximate the original, but try to lead the child to see his 
own mistakes by holding the cutting beside the object. 

9. Thanksgiving Dinner Table. Each child may cut a 
plate from a quarter sheet, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. 



Constmction Work 45 

each being cut the long way of a quarter sheet, and then 
some other necessity for the furnishing of a table. Each 
may mount his table furnishings, properly placed, around 
an oblong, like the top of a table, drawn on the blackboard, 
or on a paper tablecloth on a real table. Through this exer- 
cise the children will learn something of the art of setting 
a table. 

10. Furniture and Utensils; Christmas Tree Ornaments. 
Toys and community cutting of furnishings for a house 
provide good exercises for the winter months, 

(a) Furniture and Utensils. These may be cut with- 
out perspective, and cut large enough to be easily handled; 
nothing should be made from less than a quarter sheet of 
paper. 

(b) Christmas Tree Ornaments, Toys. These may 
be cut after studying the objects, or from imagination, if 
the children are very familiar with them. See Section 15. 

11. The House. A series of four rooms — a kitchen, a 
living room, a bedroom and a dining room — makes a good 




problem. In this the sizes of papers must vary somewhat, 
to keep the right relation of sizes in the furniture. The 
following sizes are suitable: 

For windows, beds, bureaus, bookcases, couches, and 
other large pieces, the half (6x9) sheets; for chairs, tables, 
children's beds, pictures, grates and stoves, the quarter 
sheets. For tables and stoves, the quarter sheets may be 
used the long way, from left to right ; and for chairs, the other 
way. For coal-hod, pails, pans, or other small things about 
a house, an eighth of a sheet is sufficient. 



46 



Public School Methods 



In community work every child should be represented 
by his best effort. Each may choose what he will cut, each 
cutting a variety, and from these the furnishings may be 
selected, or the work may be allotted. Fig. 2 shows one 
room, and the series may be mounted in a row on blackboard 
or wall paper, strips of paper being used to separate the 
rooms and for floors and ceilings. The choice and style 
of furniture and equipment cut will depend on that to which 
the children are accustomed. 

The illustration opposite shows what was done in 
the Stevens Point (Wis.) Practice School. However, some 
of the articles shown are too difficult to be attempted below 
the third grade. 

12. Spring Work. Hens and chickens, gardening tools 
— as a spade, hoe, rake or watering pot — plows, vehicles 
and wheelbarrows may be made during this season of the year. 

Hens and chickens may be cut in proper relation to size, 
and each child may mount a hen and several chickens as 
an individual arrangement. See Fig. 3. 

Vehicles should be cut as side views, without perspective. 




fTG. 3 



13. Exercises in Stitching. Before proceeding to con- 
struct other articles, the following exercises in stitching 




A PLAY-HOUSE MADE BY PRIMARY CHILDREN 

Photograph from State Normal School, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 



Construction Work 4*? 

should be given : (i) the running stitch, (2) the back stitch, 
(3) the overcasting stitch for raw edges, (4) the overseam 
stitch. 

These exercises may be carried out as follows: 
(i) Take a piece of checked gingham 12x3 inches. 
(Checked cloth is better, since the checks help in keeping 
the seams straight.) Place the two ends together, and make 
a seam in a running stitch along one long side, about three- 
eighths of an inch from the edge, 

(2) About a quarter of an inch inside the running stitch 
seam, make a line of back stitching. 

(3) Overcast the raw edges of the running seam. 

(4) Turn in the other long edges about a quarter of an 
inch, and overseam the two edges together. 

These exercises will give all the necessary stitches for the 
bean bag and other articles to be made in the fall. 

14. Autumn Work. A book, an envelope for preserving 
work, paper napkins, a bean bag, a holder, and a penwiper 
may be made during the fall term. 

(a) Book. Some construction work should be carried 
along with the cutting, and as soon as the children can cut 
simple objects, let them use some of their cuttings in making 
articles of use. Because of its simplicity, a book is selected 
for the first exercise of this kind. 

Cut papers, or use some already cut, about six inches 
square. Give each child three or four sheets. Have each 
sheet folded through the middle. The folding should always 
be from front to back. Cut squares a little larger than these 
sheets from colored construction paper or brown manila paper, 
and fold the same as the first sheets, for the cover. Place the 
leaves within the cover and punch a hole through all, in the 
center of the crease. An inch above and an inch below this, 
make holes. The upper hole may be named No. 1 ; the mid- 
dle, No. 2, and the lowest, No. 3. Give each child a needle 
and coarse thread. (See Fig. 4.) Sew down through No. i, 
up through No. 2, down through No. 3, up through No. 2, 
and tie between No. i and No. 2, which is on the inside 



48 



Public School Methods 




of the book. This book may oe used for writing letters, 

exercises or words. 

(b) Envelope. Manila paper, ioxi6 inches in size, 

will be needed for this exercise. Place the paper on the 

desk with the short edge 
toward the front. Fold 
this edge to within two 
inches of the back edge, 
the two inches being 
judged by the eye. The 
teacher should show this 
to the children first by 
folding a sheet of paper. 
The two inches are to be 
used for the flap. The 
two corners of the flap 
may be placed together 
^^°- '^ and rounded, the two sides 

pasted up, and the lap turned down. See Fig. 5. 

(c) Paper Napkins. You should have 9-inch squares 
of tissue paper for this exercise. Select prints of very simple 
flowers, in color, or black 
and white. Seed catalogues 
contain good material for 
this work. Each child 
should place each comer of 
his square successively over 
the print which he has 
chosen, and copy through, 
with colored crayons or 
paints, enough to fill the 

corners well. These napkins may be folded once each way 
to quarter size. 

(d) Bean Bag. This bag may be made of checked 
gingham 5x10 inches in size. If necessary, you should teach 
first the back stitch on another piece of the goods (Section 
13). Sew up the two sides of the bag and turn the seams 




Construction Work 



4d 



inside. Turn in the two open edges, and overseam these 
two edges together, leaving an opening large enough to fill 
through. If necessary, teach the overseam stitch (Section 
13). Fill the bag with beans, then complete the closing of 
the seam. 

(e) Holder. A holder may be made exactly like the 
bean bag up to the point of the turning. After turning 
the cover for the 
holder, put inside sev- 
eral squares of thick 
material, like flannel 
or heavy suiting. 
Close the edges as in 
the bean bag. Tie 
with white cotton in 
the center and half 
way between the cen- 
ter and each corner. 
For tying use a double 
thread of darning cot- 
ton, and tie in a hard 
knot. 

(f ) Penwiper. 
Draw on the same piece of tag board two circles, one 
within the other. Make the larger 3^ inches, and the smaller 
3 inches in diameter. On the circumference of the smaller 
circle punch holes one-half inch apart. Teach the stitch in 
Fig. 6, and border the circle with it, using colored raffia or 
yarn. Cut two circles of white wool goods a trifle smaller, 
and tie in with a raffia knot in the center. See Fig. 6. 

16. Christmas Tree Ornaments, (a) Lanterns. Cut draw- 
ing papers 4x6 inches. Color one side of these in varying 
colors, with crayons or paints. Fold the long edges 
together, crease and cut strips a quarter of an inch wide and 
to within a half inch of the edges, as shown in Fig. 7. Cut 
one strip entirely off, to use as a handle. Paste the short 
edges together and attach the handle, as in Fig. 7. 




FIG. 6 



50 



Public School Methods 



(b) Cornucopias. Cut drawing 
squares. Tint the paper, roll into 




FIG. 7 



paper into six-inch 

cornucopia form and 

paste. Attach a 

loop of paper at the 

upper comer. 

(c) PaperChains. 
Cut six-inch squares 
of variegated pa- 
pers into one-half 
inch strips, and 
paste into links for 
chains. Put one 
link through an- 
other each time 
before pasting, to 
form a continuous 
chain. 

(d) Stars. Fold 
a three-inch circle 
once through the 
center, as in a, Fig. 
8. Fold half the 



straight edge of this semicircle over, then fold like b. Draw 
lines as in c, and cut on those lines. The result will be a 




FIG. 8 

six-pointed star. These stars may be colored, or this cutting 
may be used as a pattern in making the stars from colored 
papers. 

16. Triang^ular Box. Place on the desk a nine-inch, 
equilateral triangle of construction paper, with an edge 



Construction Work 



51 




toward you. Place the left comer to the right and crease. 

Unfold, and turn another edge toward you. Repeat the 

fold, crease and unfold. 

Place the third edge next 

to you and repeat the 

fold, and unfold. Place 

a comer toward you; 

fold it tj the middle of 

the oppo; ite edge, crease 

and foki the same comer 

back to the middle of 

the crease, and crease it. Repeat the same folds with the 

remaining comers. Punch and tie, as in Fig. 9. 

17. Match Scratcher. Cut five-inch circles of heavy 
cardboard. Cut three-inch circles of soft paper, and fold 
and cut for a six-pointed star, as in Fig. 8. Trace this on 
sandpaper and cut it out. Paste the sandpaper star on the 
cardboard circle. Ptinch a hole and tie in a hanger of raffia 
or ribbon. 

18. Valentines. Cut patterns of hearts from six-inch 
squares folded through the center. Lay this pattern on 



FIG. 9 



1 

1 

1 
1 






1 




\ 






V 


/ 


V 


A 








white drawing paper, draw around it, and cut it out. Give 
each child a piece of flowered wall paper, and allow him to 



&^ Public School Methods 

cut out and arrange as many of these flowers on the heart 
as will fill the space well. If the children can write a verse, 
make the pattern of a double heart, decorate the outer one, 
and write the verse on the inner one. 

19. Easter Eggs. Cut patterns of eggs, freehand, from 
soft paper, and use these for tracing on heavier paper. Color 
the drawings and cut them out. See Fig. 38. 

20. May Baskets. Make cornucopias, as for the Christ- 
mas tree. Fold six-inch squares of paper into nine squares 
and cut as in Fig. 10. Fold and paste, and attach 
handle. 

21. Cover for Drawings. Cut papers of suitable size for 
a cover for June drawings. Tint or stain the paper, if not 



already toned. Cut a conventional leaf (Fig. 11) and draw 
around it in a border, as in Fig. 12. (This figure shows con- 
ventional leaves, which are simplified forms.) Paint forms 



^^^^i 



and margin lines in black or a harmonious color. Make the 
work large, even if the figure is repeated but a few times. 



Construction Work 



Bd 



SECOND YEAR 

22, Introductory. The work of the second year is a con- 
tinuation of that of the first. Cuttings representing more 
detail can be attempted, and more complex objects can be 
constructed. Let the children begin the work of this year 
by cutting fruit on branches, vegetables with tops, trees 
with and wihout foliage, log houses, Puritans, and a modem 
village. 

23. Fruits and Vegetables. Cut the body of the fruit or 
vegetable first, leaving space for the foliage; then add the 
foliage. See Fig. 13. 




FIG. 13 



24. Trees. In trees with foliage, cut or tear the foliage 
first, adding the structure. When without foliage, cut the 
trunk first, working outward from larger to smaller branches. 
See Fig. 14. 

25. Puritan Poster. Cut out figures of Puritans, in high- 
crowned hats, knee breeches and cloaks, and carrying guns. 
Cut out the front views of log cabins, and arrange a Puritan, 
a cabin and a few bare trees upon a mount, for a poster. 

26. Village. A modem village may be cut and mounted 
by a method similar to that used for the rooms of a house in 
the first year work. The village might contain dwelling 



54 



Public School Methods 



houses, a schoolhouse, a church, various shops, trees, lamp 
posts, people, horses and wagons, and any local features 
familiar to the children. Cut all without perspective, and 




»IG. 14 

mount them on a level base, as in the rooms. This may be 
mounted on green wall paper, half width, the green giving 
an out-of-door effect. Or it may be mounted on the black- 
board, chalk drawing supplementing the cuttings by the 
addition of clouds, distance or foregrcrund. 

27. Santa Claus. As the holiday season approaches, the 
children will enjoy cuttings and construction work relating to 
Christmas. Santa Claus, in or out of his sleigh, with or with- 
out reindeer, according to the skill and interest of the chil- 
dren, is a good cutting with which to introduce these exer- 
cises. 

28. Christmas Tree Poster. The teacher may paint or 
draw with colored chalk, on manila paper, a tree at least 
three feet high. The children may then cut from the soft 
paper, candles, ornaments and gifts, coloring them as desired. 
These may then be pasted in a pleasing arrangement on the 
tree. 

29. Winter Sports. This work will require figures of 
children in action, as in skating, coasting and snowballing. 
For the action, allow children to pose before the class for a 
study of the position and proportion of parts of the figure. 



Construction Work 



65 



These figures may be cut in frames, as shown in Fig. 15. 
For cutting in a frame, cut the sides and top of the frame 
first, then cut the figures to fill the space well. 




PIG. 15 
30. Poses and Gaines. Children imder umbrellas, chil- 
dren engaged in sports and games, as flying a kite, jumping 
rope, or playing ball, are interesting for the spring season. 
These may be cut in one piece, or in parts, and arranged 



V/\/\/ 



BOOK OF SEEDS 

Pie. 16 
afterward. Here, again, it will be necessary to study the 
poses taken by children in these various activities. 

31. Books for Seeds. Early in the fall let the children 
make a book for seeds. These books are designed for 



56 



Pvblic School Methods 



mounting seeds collected by the children in the autumn in 
the nature study work. The books may be made from 
drawing paper folded from 4x12 to 4x6 inch sheets, opening 
lengthwise. The cover may be of heavy paper, decorated 
with a border of units based on some seed form, as the maple 
keys or rose hips. See Fig. 16. 

32. Pumpkin Masks. These are made from nine-inch 
circles of drawing or heavy manila paper. Color each circle 

as if it were a pumpkin, 
putting in darker lines 
for the creases. Cut a 
stem and paint it green. 
Cut a circle of the same 
size from soft paper, 
and practice cutting 
holes for the eyes, nose 
and mouth, so that the 
mask will fit the indi- 
vidual face. Try until 
the holes are in the 
right place. Place this 
pattern over the colored 
circle, draw through 
the holes and cut around 
these lines. Paste the 
stem at the top of the 
mask. Add eyebrows with black paint or crayons, and ptmch 
holes a little above the height of the ears, through which 
strings may be put to fasten on the mask. These masks 
may be worn at a Hallowe'en party or in a jack-o'lantem 
parade. See Fig. 17. 

33. Braiding and Cording Raffia, (a) Braiding. The 
three-strand braid is suitable for this grade. Select three 
broad strands of raffia, wet them, and tie them in a knot 
at one end. Pin the knot to something and braid from the 
knot, flattening the braid to make it as wide as possible. 
This braid may be sewed into a little round mat, suitable 






0. 

5 




^ 


. 






1 


1 
1 1 

1 

1 
1 

1 1 
I » 


i-^^- - 




i_ 




1 


1 

1 


13? 




L^p 


1 




FIG. l8 



58 



Public School Methods 



for a penwiper top. Sew the braid with split raffia, while 
the former is damp and easily curved. 

(b) Cording. The simplest cord is made by twisting 
a single strand or two strands of raffia very tightly, then 
putting the ends together, letting the twist adjust itself into 
a. cord. 

34. Colonial Cradle. This article is best made of tag 
board, or other tough, stiff paper, though not too stiff to 
fold. Fold a six-inch square into sixteen squares, giving 
directions for each fold very carefully. Cut off one row of 
squares. Place the short edge of the remaining oblong 
toward you, and fold it up to the first crease. Unfold and 
turn it with a long edge toward you, folding the edge toward 
you to the first crease. Turn the paper aroimd and repeat 
the fold. Cut as in Fig. i8 (a). 

For the rockers, you may use two of the squares of the 
row cut off. Fold these squares through the center; curve 
one-half of each square for the rockers, holding the two 
together while cutting, 
and use the other half 
for a pasting lap. Fold 
and paste the cradle, put- 
ting the rockers near the 
ends of the base, pasting 
the laps toward the cen- 
ter. See Fig. i8 (b). 

36. Raffia Napkin Ring. 
Cut tag board 6^x2 inches, 
and paste the strip into 
a ring, lapping the ends 
one-half inch. Wind this, 
vertically, with moist, 
flattened raffia, lapping 
the strands so that the tag 
board will not show 
through when the raffia is dry. Finish both edges of the 
napkin ring with three-strand braid. See Fig. 19. 




FIG. 19 




PICTURE FRAME 



WOVEN HOLDER 



Construction Work 59 

36. Woven Holder. Make a loom from a six-inch square 
of heavy cardboard, making notches one-half inch apart 
and a quarter of an inch deep, across two opposite sides 
of the square. Thread this with carpet warp, or other 
soft strong twine, of dull tone. This is the warp of the 
weaving. 

For weaving, use bias strips of soft cotton or wool goods, 
cut about one-half inch wide. Children may bring odds 
and ends of pieces from home, and if in cutting them on the 
bias they prove to be too short, they may be sewed together 
into thirty-inch lengths before weaving. 

Weaving needles can be bought, being made of flat, narrow 
metal strips. They may be made from heavy wire cut in 
eight-inch lengths, one end filed so that it will slip through 
the warp easily, and the other end turned with plyers 
into a loop for threading. If needles are not available, this 
weaving can be done entirely with the fingers. 

Thread the needle, and weave over and under across the 
loom, back and forth, each time pushing the weaving as 
closely together as possible, to make the textile heavy and 
firm. When a new strip is added, lap it in the weaving for 
at least two inches. See Fig. 20. 

The bias strips give a soft effect, as they ravel slightly 
in the weaving. When the loom is full, cut it away, if the 
holder cannot be slipped off. Make a loop of the goods 
used in weaving, and attach to one comer of the holder for 
a hanger. 

Squares of this nature may be made and sewed together 
into pillow covers, couch blankets, or small rugs. If any of 
these articles are needed in the school, the children might 
contribute their work for such a purpose, many sharing in 
the sewing. Looms somewhat larger may be used to ad- 
vantage for commimity work. 

37. Sewing Bag. The sewing bag may be made of ging- 
ham, cut in strips of 20x8 inches. Fold one strip together 
and sew up the side seams with the back stitch. Put a one- 
inch hem around the top and run above it a welt a quarter 



60 



Public School Methods 



of an incli wide. Run into this welt two cords, one coming 
out at each seam. Overcast the seams. 

If the nature of the school is such that it offends the boys 
and the community to have them sew, the boys may sub- 
stitute some other exercise for this bag. The bag may be 
made before the holder, and the boys might make the weaving 
needles at that time. 

The sewing bag will take a number of lessons, and boys 
might do some whittling during those lessons. They will 



^L 



I 



jr. 




know that soft woods whittle easiest, and will show by their 
interests what they wish to make. Among simple things 
that they might whittle out are a seed label, a winder for 
fish line, a pencil sharpener and a letter opener, 

38. Screen. Place a six-inch square of paper on the desk, 
with an edge toward you. Fold the front edge half way 
back, so that the part turned over will be the size of the part 
beyond. Crease and unfold. Turn this around, and turn 
it over. Fold the edge now at the front to crease, crease 



Construction Work 



61 



and unfold. You have a three-paneled screen that will 
stand. Fold the panels together and cut out pieces, to 
give the effect of legs below the panels. 

39. Soldier's Cap. Make a hat from a six-inch square 
first, to teach the process; then the children can make one 




/3i:n| 



~A 



K 



of wearable size at home, using newspaper or wrapping 
paper. A cap of this kind requires a square of 24 inches, at 
least. 

Place the six-inch square on the desk with an edge toward 
you. Fold the front edge to the back edge, and crease. Turn 
this so that the fold is on the left, and the open, long edges 
on the right. Fold the front edge to the back edge, and 



Public School Methods 



crease. Turn the paper so that the upper right corners are 
toward you. Fold three of these corners together to the 
back corner, and crease firmly. Turn the paper over. Fold 



r 

1 
1 


\ 


-i 

1 

1 
1 


1 1 
1 1 
( • 
1 • 

1 


1 
1 

L ««. 


1 [ 


1 

1 
1 
1 
1 


> — - -f 


1 
1 
1 

\ 


""'T V" 




FIG, 23 



Construction Work 



6S 



the front corner to the back, and crease. This complete^^ 
the structure of the cap. The long edges at the opening 
may be turned up a half inch, and a tassel may be cut 
and pasted or tied at the top. For the tassel cut a strip 
1x6 inches, fringe it the short way, and roll or fold it into a 
tassel. 

40. Table. Place a six-inch square of tag board or heavy 
manila paper with an edge 
toward you. Fold the nearer 
edge up half way, and crease. 
Unfold and turn it around. 
Repeat the first fold, and 
unfold, placing the paper with 
the folds running from back 
to front. Fold the nearer 
edge half way up, crease and 
unfold. Cut as in Fig. 21. 
Fold and paste as in the 
illustration, then cut out legs 
from one side. Lay the piece 
cut out on the other three 
sides for a pattern, so that 
the legs will be uniform. 

41. Chair. Place a six- 
inch square of paper, like the 
table, with an edge toward 
you. Fold the nearer edge 
to the farther, and crease. 
Turn it around and repeat 
the fold. Cut off one strip. 
(See Fig. 22.) Place the 
remaining oblong with a 
short edge toward you, and 
fold the nearer edge to the 
farther one; crease and un- 
fold. Fold the nearer edge to the crease, crease and unfold. 
Turn it around and repeat the last fold. Cut as in Fig. 22. 




FIG. 24 



64 



Public School Methods 



^aste a part of the strip first cut off up the back of the chair, 
f the children are able to do so, they may cut out the legs 
of the chair as they did those of the table. 

42. Bed. Fold a six-inch square into sixteen small 
squares. Fold one edge to the first crease, and unfold. 

Cut as in Fig. 23. Fold 
and paste. Cut pieces 
to fit both head and 
foot of bed, and paste 



LTUULJI 



to 



MEHOKY GEHS 



on the outside 
strengthen it. 

43. Valentines. By 
the aid of patterns, 
cut out two hearts, 
one from a five-inch 
square and one from a 
three and one-half-inch 
square. Decorate the 
two as in the first year's 
work, but use smaller 
flowers. Fasten the 
pieces together. 

Cut out hearts from 
white drawing paper. 
Cut out pictures of chil- 
dren from periodicals and paste on the hearts. Color these 
pictures with paints or crayons. Tie in a ribbon or cord, to 
hang by. 

44. Easter Rabbit. Make patterns about six inches high, 
like Fig, 24. These patterns may be used in cutting the 
rabbits from rather heavy paper. Make the bodies brown 
and the garments of bright colors. Paste an oblong of paper, 
1x4 inches, by one end, on the back of each rabbit, as a brace, 
to make it stand up. 

45. Books for Quotations. Use writing paper of the size 
used in school. Make a heavier cover of wall paper or con- 
struction paper. See Fig. 25 for suggestions for decoration. 



FIG. 25 



Construction Work 



65 



46. Books of Flowers. Use drawing paper, on which 
flowers may be painted, or bind some already painted, cover- 



AB 


c 


DE 


™ 


HJ 


k 


LM 


Nl 


OP 


Q 


RS 


TU 


V 


WXY 


Z 



ing the books as in the book for quotations. See Fig. 26 for 
suggestions. If printing is attempted, print between two 
lines a half inch apart, using pencil first and retracing in ink 
or paint. 

THIRD YEAR 

47. Introductory. The cutting in the third grade can 
represent animals, figures, wagons with horses, or a parade 
— as a circus, a carnival or any street pageant the children 
have seen. In the country this might represent farmers 
going to market with a variety of vehicles and loads. 

48. Animals and Figures. These may be cut or torn 
from paper, either from living models or from pictures. 
In cutting children's figures, the pose should always be 
studied previous to the cutting. 



66 



Public School Methods 



t0O 




BOOrFLoWEIS 



49. Wagons and Parade. If it is too difficult to manage 
the cutting of horses and wagons in one piece, they may be 
cut separately and pasted together. Cut side views only. 

The parade may be 
a community exercise, 
each child cutting the 
part in which he is most 
interested. These cut- 
tings may be mounted 
as other exercises of this 
kind have been. 

50. Santa Claus. Santa 
Claus cuttings for this 
grade may be in a frame, 
cut from 6x9 inch sheets. 
If desired, three scenes 
may be cut — Santa 
Claus coming, Santa 
filling the stockings, and 
Santa going away in 
his sleigh. See Fig. 28. 

51. Gardening. The 
^^°- ^^ occupations of a child 

throughout the making of a garden, as spading, planting, 
watering, weeding and hoeing, make good problems for the 
spring. These subjects may be cut in frames, each child 
making a set ; or each part may be cut and arranged with the 
others later. When one of these cuttings is to be given as a 
lesson, the class should have an opportunity to see a child 
with the proper implements, posing as for that particular 
occupation. These may be cut in frames, as in Fig. 29. 

52. The Farm. This may be planned to occupy a black- 
board space of at least 8x3 feet, or to be mounted on an 
equally large piece of wall paper. The cuttings should be 
mounted to show distance, the larger ones being in the fore- 
ground. This helps to avoid discrepancies resulting from 
the variation in the size of the cuttings. Distant trees and 



Public School Methods 



roads may be drawn in chalk, to supplement the cuttings. 
Each child may cut two or three of the things needed, being 




FIG. 28 

guided in the selection by the equipment and appearance 
of familiar farms. The following list is suggestive: a house, 




FIG. 29 



Construction Work 



6d 



a bam, sheds, a com crib, a windmill, a bird house, chicken 
coops, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, ducks, hens, turkeys, a dog, 
men and women at work, children at play, shade trees, orchard 
trees and fences. See Fig. 27. 

53. Envelope. This should make an envelope 10x7 inches 
when finished, and should be large enough to hold drawings 
on papers 9x6 inches. Use tag board 12x16 inches. Dictate 
the drawing according to Fig. 30, and cut on heavy lines. 

64. Book of Trees. This is to bind the drawings or cut- 
tings of trees, or the written language and nature study 
exercises on trees. Make the leaves of drawing paper, and 




ilTrJ 



FIG. 30 



the cover somewhat larger, of heavier paper, toned. Sew 
this as in previous books. This cover may be decorated in 
any suitable way, using the knowledge gained in the drawing 
lessons and some of the results of previously studied design. 
55. Book of Leaves. This book may be used for mounting 
classified pressed leaves, or for drawings of leaves. Select 



70 Public School Methods 

materials according to the use to which the book will be put, 
and decorate with a design suggesting leaves. If the book 
is to be used for drawings, use drawing paper for the leaves 
of the book and construction or wall paper for the covers. 
If the book is to be used for mounting pressed leaves, a smooth 
wrapping paper is desirable for the leaves of the book, both 
in texture and color. For this use, cut the sheets 14x5 
inches, and fold through the center the short way. Cover 
with wall or construction paper, and if that is not available, 

a darker, heavier wrap- 
ping paper may be used. 
The paper used for meat 
wrapping works in well 
for covers, though it is 
not so easily decorated 
as are manila papers. It 
is satisfactory where 
only lettering is to be 
used. 

66. Thanksgiving Din- 
ner Cards. These may 
be used for place cards 
to seat guests. Cut 
^^°" ^^ paper patterns like fruits 

or vegetables, as apples, pears, pumpkins, beets and carrots. 
Place these patterns on white drawing paper and draw 
around them. On this form draw an oblong 2xf inches, for 
writing the guest's name. Paint the rest of the form as 
nearly as possible like the object it represents. See Fig. 31. 
67. Post Card Album. Make leaves of tag board or 
other tough paper by folding sheets 15x5^ inches through 
the center the short way. Lay a post card on each leaf, 
to locate the sHts that need to be cut to hold the cards. 
Measure f inch from each corner of the card on both edges 
and place dots there. Place corresponding dots on the 
leaf of the book. Connect the dots for each corner with 
a straight line, and cut on these lines for the slits to hold the 




Construction Work 



71 



cards in place. Bind by sewing on a cover cut i5|x6 inches, 
the cover being of Hke material or something heavier. 

Decorate simply, in straight-line borders, which, with 
the printing of the name of the book, may be done first in 
pencil, then retraced with brush and paint. Letters for 
such a cover should be not less than one-half inch high. 

58. Sled. Tag board 8x4^ inches will be needed for this 
exercise. Place the paper with the long edge toward you. 



r\. 


j 

1 
1 


^^l 


1 






^<»4«a.» •_•_ — 










3^^ 



FIG. 32 



Fold the front edge to the back edge, crease and unfold. 
Fold the front edge to the center crease and unfold. Turn 
the paper around and repeat the last fold. Place the paper 
with a short edge toward you. Fold the front edge to the 
back edge, crease and unfold. Fold the front edge to the 
center crease, crease and unfold. Turn the paper around 
and repeat the last fold. Draw lines, as in Fig. 32, and cut 
on the heavy lines. Punch holes in the front points of the 
runners, fold the runners down, and tie in a cord. 

59. Picture Frame. Cut a ring by making concentric 
circles, the outer one 5 inches in diameter, the inner one 2^ 
inches. Wind this with moist, flattened raffia, as in the 
second year napkin ring, lapping the strands well over each 



72 



Public School Methods 



other. Finish the edges with a three-strand braid, making 

a hanging loop of the same. See Fig. S3- 

60. Flower Pot Cover. Cut four or five panels, according 

to the size of the flower 
pot to be covered, 4^ 
inches high, 3 inches 
wide at the top and 2^ 
at the base. Punch 
holes one-half inch apart 
and one-quarter inch in 
along the long edges of 
these panels. Lace and 
tie with raffia or cord. 
See Fig. 34. 

61. Woven Purse. 
Make a loom of heavy 
cardboard 6^x3 J inches. 
Across the short ends 
cut notches I inch deep 
^^^- 33 and { inch apart. Thread 

this loom with moist raffia strands, with knots at one end, as 

in (a) Fig. 35. These knots will later make finishing tassels. 

Use darning or tape needles, thread with moist raffia, and 





FIG. 34 



weave under one and over one until the loom is full, pushing 
back the weave, to make it compact, every time the needle 



Construction Work 



73 



runs across (b) . Care must be taken not to draw the weaving 
threads tightly enough to make the width uneven. When 
the loom is full, cut or slip off the weaving. Cut the knots 
with even ends, and fringe the same with a pin for tassels. 
Turn up the end not tasseled 2^ inches, and sew into a purse, 
sewing with split raffia, and turning it after it is sewed. The 
tasseled end is the lap to cover the opening (c), 

A piece of braided raffia may be attached as a handle, or 
sewed across the middle 
of the back from seam 
to seam, for a finger 
strap, A fastener, such 
as is used in dressmak- 
ing, should be sewed on 
for closing the purse. 
This fastener should also 
be sewed with split 
rafiia. 

62. The Square Box. 
See Drawing, page 115. 

63. Valentines. A val- 
entine brush-holder may 
be made by fastening 
together two hearts, as 
in Fig. 36, Give the 
children several five-inch 
squares of cutting paper, 
which they will fold 
through the center and 




FIG. 36 



cut into heart shapes, practicing 
until a good pattern is secured. Use this pattern for cutting 
two hearts of stained tag board or colored Bristol board. 
Punch, lace and tie with cord twisted from raffia, as previously 
described. The tag board may he stained by brushing over 
with vegetable stains or Easy Dyes. Browns and greens will 
be the best colors. 

Another valentine may be maae by cutting two hearts 
of different sizes from white drawing paper, the children 



74 



Public School Methods 




iJPPbJV Slt>p 



cutting their own patterns from soft paper. 
These may be decorated, then strung 
together on ribbons, as in Fig. 37. Birds 
in flight may be put on in gray, after tint- 
ing the hearts blue, Hke the sky. Evergreen 
branches are also effective on the tinted 
blue. 

64. Easter Greetings. Give the children 
paper patterns like Fig. 38, the pattern to 
be not less than 3^ inches long. Draw 
around the pattern on white drawing 





FIG. 37 



FIG. 38 

paper. Color the shells a pinkish tone, 
and color the chickens yellow. Print in 
pencil first, very lightly, then retrace with 
ink or brush and paint. 

65. Kite. Cut and give each child two 
strips of heavy cardboard, one 1x16 inches, 
the other 1x8 inches, and cross the shorter 
one over the longer, four inches from the 
end of the latter. Fasten by tying, then 
cover with a piece of heavy paper 16x8 
inches, folding over and pasting. Attach a 



Construction Work 75 

tail. The flying string should be attached at the crossing point 
of the strips. A tail may be made of two-inch sections of 
hollow grass or reed stems, on which are strung alternately 
two-inch circles of colored papers prepared by the chil- 
dren. 

66. May Basket. A six-inch square of weaving from 
raffia may be made, introducing some colored raffia. This 
square may be sewed into a cornucopia and a braided loop 
attached. This would be strong enough to hold some earth, 
with a plant in bloom, like violets or spring beauties. 

67. Book of Birds. This book may be made for the 
description and listing of birds seen during the migrating 
season. Make the leaves of writing paper and the cover of 
wall or construction paper, and sew as in previous books. 
Decorate simply. 

68. Additional Foldings. These additional foldings, see 
page 76, are designed for special needs in themselves, or to 
supplement other lessons. They may be made from six- 
inch squares. 

(a) The Handkerchief Case. If this is desired as a gift, 
to hold handkerchiefs, a nine-inch square of construction 
paper will be needed to make it. Place the square with a 
comer toward yoUo Fold this front corner to the back corner, 
crease and unfold. Turn the square so that this crease will 
run from back to front. Fold the front corner to the back 
corner, crease, and unfold. Fold the front corner to the 
center, crease, and fold the corner back toward you to the 
middle of the crease and crease. Repeat these folds and 
creases with the remaining three corners. Punch and tie as 
in A, Fig. 39, if desired. 

(b) Picture Frame. Fold a square into sixteen small 
squares. Fold one edge to the nearest crease, and crease. 
Fold the opposite edge the same, creasing firmly. Do not 
unfold these. Fold the other two edges in turn the same 
way, and crease. Fold the corners so that they will appear 
like B, Fig. 39. A picture may be placed inside this frame, 
and the corners of the frame pasted, 



76 



Public School Methods 






7. ~\ 




PIG. 39 



Construction Work 77 

(c) The Boat. Place a square with an edge toward you. 
Fold this edge to the back edge, and crease. Turn the paper 
so that the two open edges are at the right. Fold the nearer 
edge to the farther edge, and crease. Place the upper right 
corner, made up of four loose corners, toward you. Fold 
three of these to the back corner and crease. Turn this over. 
Fold the front corner to the back, and crease. So far this 
is like the soldier cap. Section 39. Open it like a cap, and 
fold the front and back corners of the cap together and crease, 
as in C, Fig. 39. Place this with the open corners at the top, 
as in I and 2 in C, and open the boat by drawing i and 2 
apart. When opened as wide as possible, crease, as in D. 
Notice the corresponding points i and 2 in C and D. 

(d) The Box. Fold as in E, Fig. 39. Lap the corners 
and turn up the sides, and paste, as in F. 

(e) The Windmill. Fold and crease the diagonals in a 
square. Cut on each crease from the comer to within a half 
inch of the center. Then fold in the corners, as in G, Fig. 39, 
and run a pin through them into the end of a stick. Place 
this in the wind. 

69. Doll's House. A doll's house, such as children will 
be much interested in, may be made in first, second or third 
grade, from boxes that are divided by a partition. The 
furniture attempted must not be too elaborate for low grade 
children to make, and may be made as simple as the pieces 
previously planned. 

The following pieces of furniture are made from six-inch 
squares, folded into sixteen squares, as in A. The dotted 
lines show folds and unused edges, and the full lines show on 
what lines to cut. 

(a) The Seat. Fold and cut as in A, Fig. 40. B is a three- 
inch square, to paste on the back of the seat when it is folded 
and pasted as in C. 

(b) The Bureau or Sideboard. Fold and cut like D, 
Fig. 40. Fold another square and cut as in E. Paste F from 
D, and paste E on the back and around the sides to 
complete F. 



T- — - — 1 

I ' 

I • 

I 
J. 

' ! ' 

J ' J 




J J. u 

_(, 1 

_i ;. • 



— — -. 1 

I 
J I 

J. , 

: I 

' I 

' I 

[ I 

, I 

I I 



■■■"1 : 1 ■ 

I J I 

: I ; 

I I ' 

— -h---T— -^— '- 




?I0. 40 



Construction Work 'J'O 

(c) The Stove. Fold and cut as in G, Fig. 40. Paste 
for the body of the stove. Cut a three-inch square (I), and 
paste back of the body to make the vertical plane firmer. 
Cut two pieces 3x1^ inches, as in H, which fold through the 
center to make the shelf for the back of the stove and the 
hearth for the front. Complete as in J. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

1. Show how construction work aids in other branches, 
as number and language. Give a specific illustration. 

2. If your program is crowded, how can you manage to 
have some construction work done without interfering with 
the other branches? Be specific in your answer. 

3. Why should the making of articles go along with paper 
cutting? 

4. Cut and send in for criticism a branch containing 
leaves and apples or pears, a horse and wagon with a man 
driving, and a boy climbing a ladder. 

5. Take a piece of cloth at least 6 inches square, and 
illustrate on it the three kinds of stitches called for in Section 

13. Make such illustration at least five inches long. 

6. Make and send in to the school a penwiper (Section 

14, f), a lantern (Section 15, a), and a six-pointed star (Sec- 
tion 15, d). 

7. Fold the paper for the triangular box (Section 16). 
Do not tie the box, but send in the folded paper. 

8. ¥7hat danger must be guarded against in community 
work? What are some of the advantages of this kind of 
work? 

9. Make drawings showing (a) how the paper should be 
folded and cut for the sled (Section 58); (b) the method of 
constructing the picture frame (Section 59). 

10. What is the relation of construction work to drawing? 
Give a specific illustration showing how each of these branches 
helps the other. 



LESSON FOURTEEN 

DRAWING 

INTRODUCTION 

"The things a child can make 
May crude and worthless be; 
It is his impulse to create 
Should gladden thee." 

1. Aim of the Lessons. The aim of these lessons in 
drawing, painting, clay modeling and picture study is to 
assist in the development of the creative powers of the child ; 
to enlarge his understanding and appreciation of the world 
of nature ; to develop the power to see beauty in commonplace 
things; to acquaint him with the world of art as expressed 
in man's handiwork; to increase his respect for the workers 
of the world in all fields of labor, and to inculcate a desire 
to become a worker in some field of action, thereby enhancing 
his joy in living and in contributing to the joy of others. 
Finally, through a course in public school art it is hoped to 
improve the environment of the school and home and event- 
ually to bring about a greater interest in civic beauty, there- 
by increasing the pleasure of living. 

2. Arrangement of Plan. The plan outlines the work by 
months, covering the work of the first to the third grade, 
inclusive. Specific directions are given for each exercise, 
but the teacher, to make sure that she can give the lessons 
without hesitation, and that she can do rapidly and with 
skill what she asks the pupils to do, should practice the 
exercises herself as she studies the lesson o Draw every 
object the pupils are asked to draw; study every subject they 
are asked to paint, and make every article called for in con- 
nection with the lessons. If you have not had previous 
experience in this kind of work, you will need to give your- 
self a good deal of practice on some of the exercises before 
you can successfully present them to your pupils. This, 

80 



Drawing ^1 

however, should not discourage you. The exercises are so 
simple, and the directions so complete, that you are sure 
to succeed, and in the development of the exercises you 
will add one more accomplishment to your preparation 
as a teacher. 

At the end of the work outlined for each month there 
is a paragraph headed Tests. You should do the work called 
for in each test and send it to the School as you complete the 
work for each month, 

3. Materials. The work, to be carried out most effec- 
tively, is dependent upon the selection and proper use of a 
number of nature and art materials. The nature materials 
will be considered under the outline for each week's work. 
The art materials consist of paper, pencils, crayons, outfit 
for water color work, rulers, paste, scissors and clay. 

(a) Paper. The paper used for work in drawing and 
painting is an inexpensive manila, cut any size, but usually 
sold in two sizes, 6x9 and 9x12 inches. Cream-tinted paper 
is preferred to white paper, as the white paper is not an 
agreeable tone for water color effects, and the use of the 
slightly cream-toned paper is much easier on the eyes; be- 
sides, it is very much less expensive. Colored paper for 
motmting, construction and cutting work should include a 
large range of colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, 
blue, violet, gray, brown and black. 

A light weight of cardboard should be available for simple 
problems in cardboard modeling or construction work. 

Large cardboard sheets, 22x28 inches, of neutral gray 
tone, for use in mounting school exhibits, should be included 
in a list of supplies. 

(b) Pencils. A soft pencil is necessary for use in free- 
hand drawing; SS grade is a very good one. Any of the 
standard pencil manufacturers make good pencils — Dixon, 
Eagle or Prang. 

Care of Pencils. The pencil should be sharpened to a 
blunt point and rubbed down on paper to make the best 
point for drawing. The drawing pencils should not be 



8^ Public School Methods 

used for writing, but kept in cases made for the purpose, 
or kept by the children in their desks, in cases made for the 
purpose of holding all their art materials. If pencils are 
kept by the teacher, each pencil should be marked with the 
owner's name, and should always be used by the owner alone, 
for sanitary reasons. 

(c) Crayons. Colored crayons have become almost as 
tmiversal a medium as the pencil, and, in the absence of 
water color, a substitute for that medium. If but one 
medium could be obtained, a box of colored crayons would 
be recommended as the best medium to purchase. A box 
containing eight colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue 
and violet, brown and black — is manufactured by several 
reliable firms whose addresses are given under the heading 
Supplies and Supply Houses, Section 4. 

(d) Water Colors. The use of color in connection with 
art study is indispensable. Surrounded by a world of beauty 
in color, one can only inadequately express form without 
the use of color. The three-color box, containing red, yellow 
and blue, with black added, is the most acceptable box of 
water colors for school use. The colors may be purchased 
separately at three cents per cake. For prices of boxes, 
consult the catalogues of any of the firms named in Section 4. 

(e) Brushes. A No. 3 sable brush, costing seven cents, 
has been found the most practical for general use in school 
work. A Japanese brush, costing five cents, for line work 
is very convenient, but the sable can be substituted. 

(f) Water Color Pan. This may be purchased at 
small expense. It is a small, black, japanned tin, with 
enamel lining. Tops of tin cans or fruit jars may be made 
to serve as substitutes. 

(g) General Care of Materials. Most of the materials 
needed in the art lessons can be cared for by the individual 
pupils by placing everything belonging to one child in his 
desk in a box; or, a cloth case may be made especially for 
this purpose. Materials furnished by the school, such as 
paper, should be passed out at each lesson. 



Drawing SS 

4. Supplies and Supply Houses. The art materials enum- 
erated, as well as many others, including drawing text- 
books for pupils' use and teachers' manuals, may be ob- 
tained at the following supply houses* Prang Educational 
Company, D. C. Heath & Co. and Scott, Foresman & Co., 
all of 378 Wabash Ave., Chicago; Atkinson, Mentzer & 
Grover, 223 Washington St., Chicago; Joseph Dixon Crucible 
Co., 98 Jackson Boulevard, Chicago; Milton, Bradley & Co., 
Boston, Mass.; Devoe & Raynolds Co., 176 Randolph St., 
Chicago, and the Thomas Charles Company, 80 Wabash 
Ave., Chicago. It is suggested that teachers send to these 
firms for catalogues of materials and prices. 

SEPTEMBER* 

The golden-rod is yellow; 
The corn is turning brown; 
The trees in apple orchards 
With fruit are bending down. 

The gentian's bluest fringes 
Are curling in the sun; 
In dusty pods the milkweed 
Its hidden silk has spun. 

The sedges flaunt their harvest 
In every meadow nook, 
And asters by the wayside 
Make asters in the brook. 

From dewy lanes at morning, 
The grapes' sweet odors rise; 
At noon the roads all flutter 
With yellow butterflies. 

By all these lovely tokens 
September days are here, 
With summer's best of weather, 
And autumn's best of cheer. 

Helen Hunt Jackson. 
^ See Volume One, page 68. 



84 Public School Methods 

6. First Week, (a) Decorating the Schoolroom. This 
beautiful poem enumerates some of the interesting nature 
subjects that will be available for use in the art lessons 
during the month. During the first days at school encour- 
age the children to bring in some of the pretty grasses, 
weeds and flowers they may find on their way to school, or 
on their nature trips to some vacant lot or near-by woods. 
By all means, decorate the schoolroom with some of these 
trophies. Have some of the children bring from home 
earthen or glass fruit jars, in which to place the bouquets. 
Do not arrange several kinds of flowers together, but make 
a bouquet of one kind; sometimes two varieties will make 
a pleasing effect. Try to provide a bouquet of flowers or 
grasses for the teacher's desk while the autumn flowers 
last. 

Cautions, (i) Avoid having bouquets of nature material 
aroimd when they begin to show signs of decay. 

(2) Great care should be shown in changing the water 
frequently; some of the grasses, weeds and seed pods col- 
lected do not need water, but may be allowed to dry, as they 
can be kept during the winter months. 

(b) Lessons in Color. Conversational lessons on the 
colors foimd in the different flowers will prepare for lessons 
in expression later. The teacher should be provided with 
a color chart of the six colors, normal red, orange, yellow, 
green, blue and violet. These charts may be purchased or 
made of colored paper by the teacher. Arrange the colors 
in the order named. It is a good plan to write the color 
names on the blackboard, with the appropriate color crayon, 
and to draw a flower or fruit, or even a colored circle beside 
the word, to associate color impressions with the name of 
the color. The teacher should be provided with a glass 
prism, and she should allow the children to see the beauti- 
ful rainbow colors which a ray of sunlight produces. 

Draw on the board a bow of the six colors to represent 
the rainbow. Ask the children if they know how the colors 
are arranged in the beautiful arch in the sky that sometimes 



Drawing 85 

comes after the rain. The red is on the outer line, and the 
other colors follow in the order named above. 

Read to the children the Indian legend in Hiawatha 
regarding the rainbow: 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven, 

In the eastern sky, the rainbow. 

Whispered, "What is that, Nokomis?" 

And the good Nokomis answered : 

" 'Tis the heaven of flowers you see there; 

All the wild-flowers of the forest, 

All the lilies of the prairie, 

When on earth they fade and perish, 

Blossom in that heaven above us." 

(c) Use of Water Colors. Explain to the children, 
as scientifically as possible, why the bow of colors appears 
after the rain. There are three colors in the pigments we 
use, from which all the other colors are made. These three 
colors are red, yellow and blue. Have the children then 
take their boxes of water colors and make some of the colors 
they see in the rainbow. 

Material. A box of water colors, a small pan half filled 
with water, a brush, a piece of soft cloth to clean the brush, 
and two pieces of manila paper 6x9 inches. 

Method. Moisten the colors by touching them with the 
brush wet in the water. Ask the pupils what colors they 
see in the sky, and have them try to make a light blue in their 
boxes. Put a few brushfuls of water in one division of the 
cover of the box, which is to be a palette for making or mix- 
ing colors, and then rub lightly across the blue cake and mix 
this color in this water, making a light blue wash. Then 
put a light blue wash all over the paper, to represent the 
sky. Fill the brush full of the light blue color, commencing 
in the upper left comer and painting a strip across the top 
of the paper. Fill the brush again and continue a second 
strip below the first one; repeat this process tmtil the paper 
is covered evenly. Continue the study, asking questions 
such as the following: "Would you like to make a color 
for the grass-covered ground? What color is it? How 



86 Public School Methods 

shall we make green?" Direct the children to mix some 
yellow with the blue wash in the box, and watch it turn to 
green. If the wash is too light, add more blue. If it should 
become too dark, use more yellow and water. 

Commence to put the green wash on, to represent the 
ground at the lower edge of the paper, and with light sweeps 
of the brush filled with the green wash cover the lower part 
of the paper to represent the grass Allow the children to 
divide the space as they choose, having more sky than ground 
space, or vice versa. An irregular division of the space is 
more pleasing than an even division. This will be sufficient 
for the first lesson, if the children have not used water colors 
before. 

Follow this lesson with an attempt to represent the dis- 
tant trees along the horizon line, with a darker green than 
the grass. Let the brush dance along the edge where the 
ground and sky meet, to show the mass of the woods in the 
distance. 

This lesson may be varied by asking the children in the 
second grade to represent the clouds in the sky by leaving 
the paper bare in spaces where the clouds show. 

In the third grade a sunset sk)'' could be represented; or, a 
road or stream running through the meadow would vary 
the simple picture. 

6. Second Week, (a) Free Illustration. To test 
the children's power to recall and represent some interesting 
scene, use as the subject for a free illustrative lesson, What 
I Did During Vacation. Interest the children by such 
questions as the following: "Were you on the river or lake 
in a boat? If so, can you make a picture of the boat? Was 
it a rowboat, a sail boat or a steamer? Did you fish or go 
wading, or dig in the sand? Draw a picture to show me 
what you used to play with or how you looked while playing. 
Perhaps you were on the farm and were having a good time 
feeding the chickens, gathering the eggs, playing on the 
hay stacks, or riding in the big wagon and helping to drive. 
Show me by a drawing some of the pleasant times you had? 




PIOURBS BXPRESSBO BY STRAIGHT LINES 



88 Public School Methods 

If you were helping mother wash, iron, sweep, bake or 
care for the baby, you can make a picture of a Httle girl 
at work ; or, if any of the boys were helping mother or father, 
tell me with your crayon just what you were doing. What 
fun to make a picture of ourselves, showing how we looked 
at work or at play!" 

Material. Use manila paper, large size, 9x12 inches, 
and colored crayons, for the work in free illustration. 

Method. After the children have expressed themselves as 
well as possible, tell them that you will help them in the next 
lesson to make a picture showing a little girl or boy playing. 

(b) Figure Drawing. Material. Manila paper and 
black crayon. 

Method. Choose a little boy and ask him to come and 
stand perfectly upright, with arms close to the body. Direct 
the children to make one line on the paper to represent 
what the boy is doing — standing. Give them another name 
for the position — vertical, meaning upright — and explain 
that the line is said to be in a vertical position. Draw a 
line to represent the boy lying down, and explain that this 
is called a horizontal position. Show them how to represent 
the trunk with one straight line, the limbs, both upper and 
lower, with two lines each, and the head with a little circle. 
Draw on the blackboard to illustrate the standing figure, 
using skeleton lines, as shown in the illustration. Ask the 
little boy to run across the schoolroom. Call the attention 
of the children to the slanting position of the body and 
limbs, and represent this on the blackboard as shown in the 
illustration. Ask the children to illustrate, without help, 
a figure with arms extended ; another figure with arms akimbo ; 
another holding a bat; another holding a fish pole, etc. 
After the children can express action with the skeleton 
figure, show them how to fill in and clothe the figure. By 
using the side of the crayon they can make a silhouette figure 
as shown in the illustration on page 89. 

After several drawings have been made showing variouv 
positions of the boy in action, choose a little girl and pro- 




FIGURE PAINTING IN WATER COLOR OR INK WORK 



90 Pvblic School Methods 

ceed in the same way, making the skeleton lines first, then 
adding the clothing. Imagine the little girl running, jumping 
a rope, rolling a hoop, etc. The colored crayons would be 
attractive to use in these studies, as they give opportimity to 
show the color ot the dress or hat. Suggest using one other 
color with black, so that a medley of colors may not be used 
on one figure. 

Continue figure drawing in the next lesson, illustrating 
on the blackboard for the children the addition of a land- 
scape with the figure, to show an outdoor setting. Draw a 
horizon line and represent trees in the distance, as shown 
in the previous lesson. Colored crayons may be used, and 
the color of the sky, ground and trees may be massed in as 
in the water color study suggested. 

7. Third Week, (a) Study of Grasses, Have the 
children give the names of some of the grasses gathered 
recently; as the foxtail, millet, squirrel-tail, barley, timothy, 
rye, oats, etc. Let them choose one and place it on a card- 
board easel, standing the grass upright, just as it grows. 
Pin it in place against a long, narrow piece of paper, placed 
on the piece of cardboard bent to stand like an easel. First 
have the children fold the paper along the center, making a 
panel shape in which to draw the picture. Ask the children 
to draw a long line to represent the graceful stem, and call 
their attention to the delicacy of it. Have them add the 
grass head, or ear, as it is called, noticing how wide it is and 
how long, also how fuzzy the edge appears. Use the crayon, 
making strokes close together to represent the grass head. 
See illustration of grasses. After two or three grasses have 
been drawn on paper, let some of the children try drawing on 
the blackboard, others making memory drawings on paper 
at their seats. 

(b) Memory Drawings. Memory drawings for seat work 
make very valuable lessons. 

8. Fourth Week, (a) Flower Painting. Material. 
Secure a large, simple flower, such as the sunflower, field 
lily, cosmos, clematis, aster or golden-rod; the flower may 



92 Public School Methods 

be chosen with reference to the children's power of execu- 
tion. A water color outfit and manila paper will be needed 
for this work. 

Method. Have a conversation lesson first, always, to irripress 
the color and form of the flower, stems and leaves upon the 
child's mind. Children form impressions quickly and very often 
express these impressions without referring again to the object. 

The teacher should make a picture before the children 
that they may acquire good habits of work. Place your 
paper where all the pupils may see you work. Show them 
how you moisten the color you wish to use, how to take the 
moist color from the cake, or how to mix the colors slightly 
in the palette, if the color to be used is not a primary color. 
The sunflower and field Hly will be made by mixing a little 
red with the yellow, as will also the golden-rod, while the 
clematis and aster may have a little blue and red mixed 
together to match the color. Paint the flower, putting on 
the lightest or brightest color first; for instance, in the sun- 
flower or cosmos put in the petals before the centers. After 
painting the flower, paint in the stem and leaves, and show 
the shape, size and arrangement of the leaves. Paint in 
mass, working from the center out to the edge, and try to 
paint the leaf with one stroke of the brush. If this is not 
possible, add one stroke beside another until the size and 
shape of the leaf are secured. To obtain the right tone of 
green, try adding a touch of red with the yellow and blue 
to make it less brilliant and grayer in tone. 

Caution. Do not outline the form with either pencil or 
brush and fill in, but paint in directly. 

Continue flower painting, using the nasturtium, red 
flowering sage, or other garden flower, in the second and 
third grades, if the children have had work along this line 
in previous years. The children will enjoy trying the same 
flower many times, imtil they can do the work easily. 

(b) Memory Lessons. A lesson without the object is 
one of the most valuable means for impressing the form and 
color on the child's mind. 



Drawing 93 

(c) Exhibits. It is hoped that the teacher has pro- 
vided some means whereby an exhibit of the children's 
work may be placed before them. Occasionally a whole 
class lesson should be exhibited, and criticisms should be 
made, in which the children may express their opinions of 
the work. 

A string fastened about five inches above the chalk 
trough, crossing the board, would be one means of holding 
the drawings in place when a class exhibition is being 
made. A wall space covered with burlap makes a most 
desirable background against which the drawings may be 
pinned. 

A permanent exhibit could be mounted on the gray cards 
and fastened together with twine, through holes ptmched 
equally distant from the comers. The row of moimts could 
then be suspended from the picture moulding. 

There is nothing that so stimulates the interest of the 
children as to see their work in comparison with that of their 
classmates. Besides this, some good examples of drawings 
and paintings which the teacher makes could be mounted 
and placed where the children's eyes may occasionally rest 
upon them and unconsciously absorb as valuable lessons as 
those obtained during the class period. The lessons gained 
during this period of the child's development are largely 
through imitation, hence the value of having good examples 
of work always before the children. 

Test. Illustrate the figure in various actions by drawing 
the skeleton lines which represent it. 

Make from nature two studies of grasses in silhouette, 
using black water colors or ink. 

Write a brief outline of work done in drawing during 
September. 

OCTOBER 

One mass of sunshine glows the beech; 
Great oaks, in scarlet drapery, reach 
Across the crimson blackberry vine 
Toward purple ash and sombre pine. 



94 Public School Metlwds 

The orange tinted sassafras 
With quaintest foliage strews the grass; 
Witch-hazel shakes her gold curls out 
'Mid the red maple's flying rout. 

Our forest that so lately stood 
Like any green, familiar wood, 
Aladdin's fabulous tale repeat; 
The trees drop jewels at our feet. 

With every day some splendor strange; 
With every hour some subtle change 
Of our plain world; how could we guess 
Such miracles of loveliness. 

Lucy Larcom. 

9. Nature Walks. During your nature walks in the 
beautiful month of October, call the children's attention to 
the wonderful changes going on in the colors in the foliage. 
Ask them to tell what is the color scheme of the maple, oak, 
sassafras and willow; which trees assume the autumn coloring 
first; which tree is called the "king of colonists"; which trees 
drop their leaves early, and which hold them late. 

Besides collecting the various leaves, study also the seed 
pods, nature's treasure caskets. The milkweed, jimson or 
Jamestown weed, Indian mallow, cat-tail and teasel will 
make beautiful winter bouquets, besides furnishing inter- 
esting material for nature and art study. The fruits, and 
nuts, too, serve as rich harvests to the nature and art lover, 
as they do to the farmer, 

10. First Week, (a) Autumn Weeds. Choose one of 
the pretty weeds, milkweed with seed pods, or teasel, and 
study it carefully. Introduce the study in this manner: 
"What kinds of seeds has this plant? Some seeds are pro- 
vided with wings to help them fly and scatter about ; some 
have stickers that fasten themselves to clothing; others 
merely drop from the pods to the ground below. Which 
kind has the milkweed? the teasel? the Indian mallow? 
Study the shape and color of the pod and how it attaches it- 



96 Public School Methods 

self to the stem. Do you think you could show with your 
crayon the color and form of the branch studied?" 

Place a branch where all may obtain a good view, and 
after questions concerning the size of the stem, arrangement 
of the leaves or pods, whether growing opposite, alternate, 
singly or in clusters, let the children draw with crayon a 
picture of the branch. 

Continue the study of seed branches during the week, 
and vary the lessons by using different materials or a different 
medium, as, for instance, a lesson in water color work could 
follow a lesson in colored crayon. A silhouette study in 
black water color or ink would make a pleasing variety. 
See the illustration. 

(b) Seat Work. Freehand cutting of the seed pods 
would be a very valuable review lesson of the form side of 
the study, as the scissors is a very necessary tool to learn 
to use. 

11. Second Week, (a) Autumn Leaves. Choose some 
of the pretty, gayly colored leaves, and make a collection, 
pressing and mounting the different varieties. Urge the 
children to strive for the largest collection possible, then 
bind them together and make little booklets of the leaves. 
While the children in the first grade press and mount speci- 
mens, the second grade could paint their collection, using 
the single leaf, and the third grade could make a study of 
two leaves on a branch. See Color Plate, Maple Leaves. 

In the first grade the leaves may be traced around, in 
the first studies, and then painted with water colors; the 
children in the second and third grades can paint the leaves 
without tracing or outlining, painting them in mass, dropping 
in the bright colors as the color of the leaf suggests. If 
the single leaf is used, let each child be provided with one on 
his desk; but if a small branch is used, the teacher should 
pin the studies on the pasteboard easels and place them 
where the pupils may easily see them. 

A good device for placing such small studies is to have 
thin, light-weight boards placed between the front desks in 



98 Public School Methods 

every other aisle and half way back in the row, so that chil- 
dren in the back seats may see the studies equally well. 
This allows every other aisle free for the teacher to pass back 
and forth to give individual criticisms. 

Make as many leaf studies as you can during the week. 
The water color or colored crayons will be the best mediums 
to use. 

(b) Book Cover. Tell the children that they may now 
plan a cover for the leaf booklets. Use the brown or gray 
paper for a cover. It is difficult to obtain colored paper, 
so use some of the heavy wrapping paper which may be 
obtained at the stores. Use a leaf form for a unit, and make 
a border across the book cover. The leaf units may be 
cut out and pasted in a row to form a border, making a good 
first grade problem; or, after a unit has been cut it may be 
traced on the cover to make a border arrangement, and 
painted in a flat color or in black, making a silhouette effect. 
Border lines above and below the units should always be added 
to complete the border effect. See the illustration, page 113. 

12. Third Week, (a) Trees. When the trees are the 
gayest in color is the time to try to express the October land- 
scape. Choose some tree, one that you have had an 
opportunity to study and enjoy, and after the children have 
observed the color scheme, the laws of growth in branching, 
etc., ask them to try to make a picture of this tree in water 
color. If it is the maple tree, and the yellow and orange colors 
predominate, mass in with a brushful of color the general 
effect of the foliage with the lighter color (yellow), and then 
drop in the red to make the orange hues; or perhaps some 
leaves are still green, if so, paint the green by taking the 
colors fresh from the cakes and allow them to blend on the 
picture instead of mixing the colors in the box. This gives 
the fresh effect that one is apt to lose if the colors are mixed 
together too much. If the oak is chosen, then the rich 
browns may be obtained by mixing all these colors — ^red, 
yellow and blue — together, and if the brown has a reddish 
tinge, use more red than yellow and blue. 



Drawing dd 

Cautions, (i) Do not use black under any circumstances 
to make a color darker, for it makes the color dull and muddy. 
By using more of the blue and red you can darken any color. 

(2) Do not use much water where the color required is 
very dark, as in the trunks of the trees. 

(b) Landscapes. After a lesson on the separate tree on 
yellow paper, continue the October landscape by painting 
the sky a blue and the ground a brown, to suggest the brown 
grasses or fallen leaves. After the sky and ground are nearly 
dry, paint the large tree in the foreground of the picture. 
See illustration. Proceed in the same manner as you did in 
representing the tree alone on the dry paper. 

The woods in mass, represented in the distance, would 
be a good review, following the suggestion given for painting 
a landscape in September. 

(c) Illustrating a Poem. Read to the children a few 
lines of poetry descriptive of the October landscape, and 
let them represent it as they recall seeing the woods. Fol- 
lowing is an appropriate stanza: 

Now, like Aladdin of the days of old, 

October robes the weeds in purple gowns; 

He sprinkles all the sterile fields with gold, 
And all the rustic trees wear royal crowns. 

The straggling fences all are interlaced 

With pink and purple morning-glory blooms; 

The starry asters glorify the waste, 

While grasses stand on guard with pikes and plumes. 

13. Fourth Week, (a) Fruits. Choose some of the 
fall fruits for representation — the pumpkin for the first 
grade, the apple or pear on the branch for the second and 
third grades. V the pumpkin is chosen, the teacher can 
weave around it the Hallowe'en sports and games. After 
painting it in water color, working in mass and representing 
the deep creases in its surface by using a little blue with the 
red and yellow colors to make a shadow color, the children 
would enjoy cutting the pumpkin to represent the jack-o'- 



100 Public School Methods 

lantern. Then a lesson might follow where the picture is 
represented with the grotesque features of a face. 

Use the large size paper, and make large paintings. These 
may be cut out and a row of jack-o'lanterns may be fastened 
at the edge of the board. You can represent some of these 
faces as being mirthful by making the up-turned lines in 
the features, and the opposite effect by drawing the lines 
downward. 

(b) Modeling. A lesson in clay modeling would be 
very appropriate in connection with the study of the pump- 
kin, apple or pear. After the clay has been softened to the 
consistency of putty, by placing in a bag immersed in water, 
let the children each take a piece about the size of a two- 
inch ball, and try to form the object they are studying. 
Model it with a little tablet underneath, so that the object 
will have a base and will not roll about without a proper 
setting. See halftone illustrations opposite. 

If the fruit on the branch is chosen for a lesson, the first 
work might be done in gray tones to get the form of the 
study, using black water color and water. Following this, 
make a study of the object in full colors, leaving a high 
light of light blue, if the surface of the fruit is shiny. 

In modehng the fruit, the apple or pear may be modeled 
in the full round, or in relief against a clay tablet, showing 
the branch and a couple of leaves in low relief. 

Too much cannot be said in favor of the use of clay in 
representing objects in the three dimensions, as no other 
medium compares with this one as a means of expression. 
After a little practice in preparing the clay, the teacher will 
not find it troublesome; after it has once been softened it 
can be placed in an earthenware jar and kept moist for some 
time. After the lesson some of the specimens may be saved, 
and the remainder should be pressed together to form a 
cake, and then pounded together to make a smooth mass. 
The janitors are usually willing to assist the teacher in the 
first preparation of the clay, which consists of pounding the 
lumps small and soaking in a coarse bag for a day or two. 



Drawing 101 

Then suspend the bag and allow the water to drain off. After 
rolling the clay into a cake and placing it in a dry cloth, it 
will be ready for use. Use a string to cut the clay in small 
pieces for class work. Place a piece of paper under the 
clay on the desk. Do not roll the clay in the hands, but 
press it into shape with the thumb and fingers. No other 
tools are necessary for this work.* 

Read to the children the first stanza of the poem which 
follows; the teacher will appreciate the second stanza: 

I took a piece of plastic clay 
And idly fashioned it one day; 
And as my fingers pressed it, still 
It moved and yielded to my will. 
I came again when days were past; 
The bit of clay was hard at last; 
The form I gave it still it bore, 
But I could change that form no more 

I took a piece of living clay 
And gently formed it day by day. 
And moulded, with my power and art 
A young child's soft and yielding heart. 
I came again, when years were gone — 
It was a man I looked upon. 
He still that early impress bore. 
And I could change it nevermore. 

Test. Make a study from nature of a seed pod on the 
branch, using colored crayons. 

Paint a simple October landscape representing a maple 
tree, or an oak tree, doing the work from nature. 

Write a brief outline of work done in drawing during 
October. 

NOVEMBER 
November woods are bare and still; 
November days are clear and bright; 
Each noon bums up the morning chill; 
The morning's snow is gone by night; 

1 If near a brick, tile or pottery works, ground clay can be obtained at slight 
cost. Clay may be obtained at one cent a pound from the Star Stoneware Co., 
Crooks vi He, Ohio. 



10^ Public School Methods 

Each day my steps grow slow, grow light, 
As through the woods I reverent creep 
Watching all things lie "down to sleep". 

Helen Hunt Jackson. 

14. Prepariitory Work. The interests of November center 
around the preparations made for winter, both by man and 
the lower animals. The children will be interested to tell 
you of the household stores in fruits and fuel that the kind 
and thoughtful mother and father are storing away. The 
farm products are loaded into wagons and brought into the 
city, or stored in the granaries for future use. How dependent 
all are on the farmers' successful harvest! How grateful 
we should be for his services in providing us with our daily 
food. Ask the children if they have ever lived in the country 
or visited on the farm when the harvest was being gathered. 
Ask them to name the fruits, vegetables and grains that 
come from the farm. Have them name the varieties of 
potatoes, squash, beets, parsnips, onions, carrots, turnips, 
etc., also varieties of apples, pears, peaches, and the grains 
— corn, wheat, rye, barley and oats — also the nuts — ^hickory, 
walnut, butternut, chestnut, beechnuts. Suggest a nutting 
party for a day's outing in the woods some Saturday. Many 
trophies could be brought back to use in beautifying the 
schoolroom and also afford interesting subject-matter for 
nature study, art study and composition work. To describe 
and illustrate some incidents of a nutting party would vitalize 
both the oral and written work, and would awaken the per- 
ceptions of even the dullest pupil. Try it. 

Have the children describe the preparations the animals 
make for winter — ^the squirrel, gopher, hare, field mouse, 
bear, etc., also the insect world. Let the children collect 
and bring to school the largest possible variety of nature's 
fruits. 

15. First Week, (a) Fruits and Vegetables. Suggest 
to the children that they make pictures of some of the fruits 
and vegetables that are most attractive in form and color. 
The Hubbard and the crook-necked squash, the turnip, 




gTUPY OF FRUIT BRANCH. IN BLACK WATER COLOR OR INK — DESIGN 
FROM FRUIT BRANCH 



104 Public School Methods 

beet and onion, all make attractive studies. Draw in crayon, 
or paint in silhouette or in full color. See illustrations. The 
large variety of subjects makes it posible to choose different 
ones for each grade. The larger ones are best suited to the 
lowest grades. Place them on a chair, which may be placed 
on the teacher's desk, in plain view of all pupils. If the 
smaller vegetables are chosen, place them on boards between 
the front desks. 

(b) Cutting and Modeling. Freehand cutting, or tear- 
ing the paper to represent the rough surface of the squash, 
would make good seat work. If the sand table is used to 
carry out the idea of the farm activities, the barns, wagons 
and wheelbarrow could be folded from bogus or wrapping 
paper, or thin wood could be used and the children given the 
opportunity to use the saw, hammer and tacks to fasten 
the parts together. Clay could be used to fashion the animals 
of the farm — horses, cows, sheep, pigs — or the children could 
bring their toys from home. This problem may occupy 
the greater part of the month, the children being happy to 
work at the sand table before and after school hours. 

16. Second Week, (a) Outdoor Studies. Compare the 
general aspect of the outdoor world this month with gayly- 
robed October. Ask the children if they can recognize the 
trees after the leaves are gone. Call to mind the general 
features of the landscape by such questions as the following: 
" Have you noticed the beautiful effects of the bare trees 
against the sunset skies? What colors are in the sky at 
sunset time ? Could you paint some bright skies during one 
lesson and the next lesson add the bare trees with your 
black crayon?" 

Choose different trees in the different grades. Try rep- 
resenting the frisky squirrel on a tree branch, or at the base 
of the trees. Make a large picture of the squirrel with its 
bushy tail. See illustration, page 141. 

(b) Illustrate Reading Lessons. Continue free illus- 
trations of the stories brought out in the reading lesson or 
morning talks. 



•106 Pvhlic School Methods 

17. Third Week. Special Events. Illustrate stories 
connected with the boyhood of Hiawatha, also stories con- 
nected with the first Thanksgiving. Make a wigwam of 
sticks and skins, and decorate it with Indian symbols. If 
possible, let the children make the Indian shirt and decorate 
it with symbols or picture writing, using crayola or water 
colors. They can also make the Indian headdress and will 
enjoy the work. 

If the first grade has chosen the working out of farm 
life on the sand table, the second grade could develop Indian 
life, and the third grade might take up colonial life and build 
the first log house and make Priscilla caps and kerchiefs 
to wear at the Thanksgiving festival. Let the work be in 
preparation for the national holiday, and try to cultivate 
the true spirit of Thanksgiving. 

18. Fourth Week. Preparation for Thanksgiving. 

In the chill November, 
Like a sunbeam bright, 
Comes the glad Thanksgiving 
Full of joy's own light. 

Now at home's dear fireside. 
Many a loving band 
Meets in joy together 
In this happy land. 

And though we rejoicing 
Taste Thanksgiving cheer, 
'Tis the happy home-love 
Makes the time so dear. 

Laura Frost Armitage. 



Lead the children in conversation to tell how they will 
spend Thanksgiving. Can you not plan to let the children 
cook something and prepare a dish for a school party? The 
first grade could prepare cranberry sauce; the second grade 
could bake beans, while the third could prepare the pumpkin 
for pies. If it is not possible to work this out in the school- 




"BY THE ^m^Vi Bf tjULHt t^UttEt' 



APPROPRIATE FOR BLACKBOARD OR IN CHARCOAL 



108 Public School Methods 

room, you can give careful directions and the work may be 
done at home. Arrange for each one to contribute some- 
thing for the school party. The long table used in kinder- 
garten work could be utilized, or boards placed on boxes will 
serve the purpose. In what way may the art lessons serve 
to increase the pleasure and general attractiveness of the 
occasion? One school decorated the corners of the paper 
napkins with Mayflower designs, painted in blue. If the 
party is not too large, place cards may be hand-painted and 
some appropriate decoration may be added; or pumpkins 
may be cut from paper painted, and the name printed on 
the face of the round card. If the parents are invited, 
invitations simply printed by the children, with some added 
sketch appropriate to Thanksgiving, would be practical. A 
row of pumpkins in colored crayon, and a few words like the 
following would be appropriate for the invitation: "Please 
come to our party." The lessons in table setting and all the 
points in table etiquette will be some of the most practical 
art problems imaginable. 

The teacher should have the blackboard work suggestive 
of the interesting pictures associated with Thanksgiving Day 
• — a drawing of the Mayflower, a group of vegetables, or a 
large shock of corn would be attractive. The set of Thanks- 
giving pictures made by Lucy Fitch Perkins and sold by 
the Prang Educational Company, Chicago, also the Thanks- 
giving packet offered by the Davis Press, Worcester, Mass., 
are helpful. These pictures may be had for a nominal sum. 
Small reproductions of the pictures by George Henry Bough- 
ton, representing the Puritans, Priscilla, John Alden, etc., 
would be interesting to the children who are studying colonial 
times. 

Test. Make a study from nature of a vegetable, in crayon 
or water colors. 

Draw a bare tree from nature, using pencil or crayon. 

Make a suitable illustration for blackboard work, sug- 
gestive of Thanksgiving. 

Write a brief outline of work done during November. 



no Public School Methods 



DECEMBER 

December, oh, December dear, 
We know your laughing face, 
And who that jolly fellow is 
That drives at such a pace. 

The prancing steed, the jingling bells, 
The sleigh with toys heaped high, 
Proclaim to every child on earth 
That dear St. Nick is nigh. 

LizBETH B. Cummins. 

19. Nature and Picture Study. Let the art work of 
December be influenced by the aspects of nature, by the 
winter games that interest children, by the stories, songs and 
poems especially suitable for December, and last, but not 
least, by the natural inclination the children have to cele- 
brate the well-nigh universal holiday of Christmas by the 
making of some pretty gift for parent or classmate. Collect 
pictures illustrating the winter landscape and figures of 
children in winter sports. Some of the great world-renowned 
pictures of the Christ child should become familiar to the 
children. The following are suggested as being especially 
enjoyed by the children in lower grades: 

The Madonna of the Chair. — Raphael. 

Madonna of the Rabbit. — Titian. 

Holy Family. — Van Dyck. 

Holy Family. — Murillo. 

Arrival of the Shepherds. — LeRoUe. 

The Sistine Madonna. — Raphael. 

St. Anthony and the Christ Child. — Murillo. 

Christ with the Doctors. — Hofmann. 

20. First Week. Winter Sports. Recall the pleasures 
of the Thanksgiving holiday, and ask the children to draw 
something to illustrate the good time they enjoyed. To 
make the work definite, ask a few questions such as the 
following : " Did you go sliding down hill ? Did you go skating ? 
Did you play snow-ball? Can you make a picture to show 
what you did?" Use crayons and have them represent the 



112 Public School Methods 

color of the sky, the bare trees and the children at play. 
Leave the ground white to represent the snow. Ask one of 
the children to bring his sled to school the next day, so that 
one of the children may pose with the sled. 

After the pupils have tried to express the picture from 
memory, then follow with a second lesson, using the sled 
and the child posing. If the children have some difficulty 
in representing the sled, have a lesson to show them how to 
represent the runners and the top fore-shortened. The 
pose could vary in different grades. In the first grade the 
little boy or girl may be pulling the sled, while in the second 
grade the boy or girl might be lying or sitting on the sled, in 
the position he or she likes to ride best; and in the third 
grade the girl might be sitting on the sled and the boy pulling. 

Use manila paper, 9x12 inches, and crayons, in the first 
and second grades, while water colors representing figures 
in silhouette might be used in the third grade. 

After the pose lesson has been given, the next lesson could 
be a memory lesson from the pose lesson, and to give a new 
feature the winter landscape could be added. Call attention 
to the white ground, the bare trees and the beautiful effects 
of ice, snow and frost. 

^ Read from Whittier's Snowbound such parts as the chil- 
dren enjoy. 

21. Second Week. Winter Landscape. Make a special 
study of the sunset effects in the winter landscape, also the 
evergreen trees. Paint a bright, pretty sky and represent 
the dark green evergreen tree on the hillside. Use manila 
paper and water colors or crayons. 

Let the children illustrate the following lines: 

I remember, I remember, the fir trees 

dark and high; 
I used to think their slender tops were 

close against the sky. 

The branches of the pine tree are very effective decoration 
at this time of year; they also serve admirably for an art 




i 



4- 
4 




* 
* 




<* 




* 






il4 Public School Methods 

study. Let the children paint a wash to represent a bright- 
colored sky, and after that wash has dried perfectly let 
them use either black or green crayon and represent the long, 
slender needles of the pine. The evergreen tree and the cones 
make good units of design, and cuttings may be made to be 
used later to decorate the Christmas gifts. 

22. Third Week. Preparations for Christmas. The 
art work this week should be correlated as closely as possible 
with the construction work. If Christmas boxes, calendars, 
picture frames, blotters, etc., are to be used as gifts, the art 
lessons should be directed to making designs suitable for these 
objects. The snowfiakes make beautiful units that may be 
used in design work. Fold the paper and cut to suggest the 
beautiful geometric units. The evergreen tree conventional- 
ized, the holly leaves and berries and the poinsettia are all 
seasonable subjects for designs. See illustration of Design 
Units, pages in and 113, also Construction Work, page 49. 

One of the most acceptable gifts the child can make to 
the parent is a portfolio containing the school work the child 
has done during the term. To make the portfolio, choose 
some heavy, colored paper, brown, gray or green, and fold 
it in the center, to make a cover in which the work may be 
fastened. Fold the edges in, to make the portfolio more 
firm. If a portfolio is desired large enough for papers 9x12 
inches, use paper 11x24 inches, allowing one inch to fold in 
on each side. 

Let the children cut a unit of design from paper, and in 
the first grade these units may be pasted to form a design 
on the portfolio. In the second and third grades the 
unit may be traced around and painted with color in 
harmony with the paper. At Christmas the use of red 
and green in combination is permissible, and the holly 
and poinsettia make good units for design. The design 
should be conventional, and even in the lower grades 
the children may be taught to know that pictures are not 
suitable to use as decorations, when applied to constructed 
objectSw 







L 




L 
















1 




r 








PATTERN ANo DESI&NS porSPRE BOX 



116 Public School Methods 

Make some suitable blackboard drawings for Christmas; 
a Christmas tree full of gifts, Santa Claus in a sleigh with 
reindeer, a fireplace with stockings hanging, would be much 
enjoyed by the children. Print the words Merry Christmas 
or some other appropriate sentiment. 

Test. Illustrate a winter scene with a figure of a child 
with a sled. Use crayons. 

Draw a design to show an appropriate decoration for a 
Christmas gift made by your pupils. 

Write a brief outline of work done during December. 

JANUARY 

Who comes dancing over the snow, 
His soft little feet all bare and rosy? 
Open the door, though the wild winds blow. 
Take the child in and make him cosy. 
Take him in and hold him dear; 
He is the wonderful glad New Year. 

Dinah M. Mulock. 

23. First Week. Toys. After the Christmas holidays 
the children will be eager to tell you about all the good things 
Santa Claus brought them. Let them illustrate freely, to 
show you some of their Christmas gifts. Ask the children 
to bring some of their toys to school to enjoy with the other 
children, and to use as objects for drawing. 

It would be interesting to study how and where our toys 
are made. The Germans are the great makers of toys. A 
craftsman's guild near Chicago is also doing some very inter- 
esting work in making simple and substantial toys. 

Select some of the simplest toys for the first grade. The 
toy animals are very good; the bear, dog, horse, cat or ele- 
phant would make good studies for silhouette work. These 
studies would be interesting subjects for freehand cutting and 
clay modeling. In the second and third grades more difficult 
toys might be used as studies, suited to the power of the 
children to represent them. The toy engine and train of 
cars, the carts and horses, are all interesting material. A 



CHRISin AS TOYS 6.5.NG CHlLDRfN;s JOYJ 




118 Public School Methods 

box of tools would serve admirably, and especially so when 
in the hands of the children suggesting their use. For 
example, let a boy demonstrate the proper positions of the 
workman in using the saw, the hammer, the plane, etc. 

24. Second Week, (a) Object Drawing. Ask the chil- 
dren to bring a toy drum for use in illustrating the principle 
of the foreshortened circle. Hold the drum so that the 
children can see across the top, and ask them if it appears 
round, like a circle, or narrow, as an ellipse. Give a drill in 
drawing ellipses. Draw appearance of the drum when the top 
is a little below the level of the eye and appears like an ellipse. 
Then place the drum so that it is above the level of the eye 
and ask what face comes into view. The children should 
see the bottom face, and should note that this face, as the 
drum is held, looks like an ellipse. Have the children draw 
the drum as it appears a little above the level of the eye. 
Hold the drum as the drummer carries it in the band, and 
ask the children how it appears. Draw it as it appears 
when held in this position. See illustrations. 

If the children should be familiar with the drum, choose 
something else that will demonstrate the same cylindrical 
principle, namely, that when the circle is seen obliquely, it 
appears to be an ellipse. The toy tub or pail will serve the 
same piu-pose. Draw in outline. The work from the objects 
could be varied by having a child pose, using the different 
objects. Poses of the boy with the drum, or girl washing, 
using the tub, will delight the children. See illustrations. 

(b) The Pencil. In these exercises the lead pencil, a very 
soft medium, should be introduced. Previous to this the 
crayons, black and colored, should be used, as they respond 
more easily to the touch. The pencil can be introduced 
earlier, if the children have developed some power of ex- 
pression. On the other hand, if their muscles are still weak, 
the soft crayon should be continued. 

26. Third Week. Object Drawing (Continued), (i) 
Soap-bubbles. Continue object drawing. The first grade 
children should be given a drill in drawing circles. This can 




QV>ove^ Lc^t-l olive. 




UidiLitU^ 




Ov\ LcMcl e>\^>j< 




bi 



Be\irviXto«.\©^i>j< 



APPEARANCE OF DRUM IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS 



120 Public School Methods 

be introduced by having a soap-bubble party, in which the 
children will see the perfect form and beautiful colors. Ask 
the children if they would like to try to represent the different 
sized bubbles or spheres. Have them draw with their pen- 
cils or crayons on the blackboard to represent the bubbles. 
Draw a circle. Show the children how to draw the circle by 
holding the pencil pointing to the left, and commencing at 
the bottom of the circle, moving around to the left, top, right 
and bottom. After a lesson in drawing, have a paintirig lesson 
to represent the bubbles. 

Method. Moisten the water colors. Take a brushful 
of water, and, starting in the center, represent the circle by 
water only. Then touch the colors lightly, and touching the 
wet circle, drop in the delicate colors to represent the irri- 
descent colors of the soap bubble. 

(2) Lanterns. The second and third grades could study 
the beautiful form and colors of Japanese lanterns. These 
will form attractive decorations in the schoolroom, hung in 
a comer or in the window, fastened to the window cord. The 
form of the lantern will review the sphere, or ovoid, and 
the black bands are cyHndrical. When hung above the 
level of the eye, how do the bands appear? Can you see into 
the top or the bottom of the cylinder? Have the children 
show in their drawings what they see. They may use the 
colored crayons to show the pretty, bright colored lantern 
and the black bands. The plain colored lantern will be the 
simplest and best to use. After a lesson using the colored 
crayons, try using the water colors. 

Method. If the lantern is plain color, paint the shape 
of the body of the lantern, and then use all three colors mixed 
to make black. In representing the bands, paint them a 
tiny space away from the body, which may be still wet. 

26. Fourth Week. Object Drawing (Continued). 
Continue object drawing, and vary the program in the first 
grade by some illustrative drawing of stories or nursery 
rhymes. In choosing objects, select those that will be 
attractive to the children, A little set of dishes that the 



■■ 




Ow Leve,| o^t^^ 




B^Uw UveiottY^ 






APPEARANCE OF BASKET IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS 



122 Public School Methods 

girls could bring from home would be interesting. A lesson 
on how to set the table, and also how dishes are made, would 
be very instructive. 

After a lesson on drawing the appearance of cups and 
bowls, in the first grade, and cup and saucer, or teapot, 
in the second and third grades, a final lesson could be given 
in representing a tea party. Let some of the children pose 
at the table, and after studying the simple lines of table 
and chair and sitting figure, ask the children to draw what 
they see, or what they can remember. 

Clay modeling would be a very valuable form of study 
of the dishes. A bowl would be the easiest form to model. 
The cup with a handle might be attempted in the third grade. 
Do not attempt plates, as they are apt to be too thin and 
break too easily. See halftone illustration of clay vases 
made by children in the third grade. 

Test. Make a drawing from some children's toys. 

Make three drawings from some cylindrical object (not 
a drum) to illustrate the appearance of cylindrical objects 
in different positions. 

Write the principle governing the appearance of cylindrical 
objects. 

Write brief outlines of work in drawing done in January. 

FEBRUARY 

'Tis splendid to live so grandly 

That long after you are gone. 

The things you did are remembered, 

And recounted under the sun; 

To live so bravely and purely 

That a nation stops on its way, 

And once a year, with banner and drum, 

Keeps its thoughts of your natal day. 

27. Preparation for Special Days. The month of Febru- 
ary is rich in anniversaries which suggest many interesting 
things along the line of literature and art. The events of 
greatest interest to the children will be St. Valentine's Day 




CRAYON WORK 



f f ' 





STUDIES OF FAMILIAR OBJECTS IN SILHOUETTE 



124 Pvhlic School Methods 

^id the birthday anniversaries of Abraham Lincoln, George 
Washington and Henry W. Longfellow. Have you good 
pictures of these men? Do you know the name of the Amer- 
ican artist who painted the most popular picture of Wash- 
ington? Learn something of this artist, Gilbert Stuart, 
who has given to the world the most acceptable portrait 
of the Father of his Country. It is called the Athenaeum 
portrait, from the fact that it hangs in the Athenaeum 
Gallery in Boston. It was left unfinished, hence the reason 
that the canvas is bare in the lower comer. The face is 
wonderfully well drawn, though a little too highly colored 
in the original painting. 

Another favorite picture of Washington represents him 
and his company of soldiers crossing the Delaware River. 
It was painted by the German-American artist, Emanuel 
Leutze, who has painted many of the large frescoes [in 
the Capitol at Washington. It has considerable story- 
telling power, although the color in the original is cold and 
black. 

The great American sculptor. Saint Gaudens, has given 
us the fine statue of Lincoln, the original of which is in Lincoln 
Park, Chicago; inexpensive reproductions of this great work 
of art may be procured in the penny pictures. 

The picture called The Boy Lincoln, by Eastman Johnson, 
the original owned by Berea College, Kentucky, is of especial 
interest to children. It represents the young, awkward boy, 
sitting by the old fashioned fireplace, reading by the light of 
the open fire. 

The object drawing should be continued this month, and 
since the illustrations connected with Lincoln and Wash- 
ington include the drawing of the early homes, the problem 
of the drawing of houses and other rectangular objects should 
be taken up. 

28. First Week. Receding Lines. Illustrate on the 
blackboard the appearance of the receding lines in the land- 
scape as they are noticed in the road, railroad, telegraph 
poles and houses. 





RECEDING LINES AND OBJECTS IN PERSPECTIVE 



126 Public School Methods 

Method. First draw a long horizon line, then indicate 
the lines in a road directly in front of the observer, allowing 
them to meet at a point on the horizon; this point is called 
the vanishing point. Indicate also how trees are repre- 
sented at different distances, diminishing in apparent size 
as they are more distant. Allow the pupils to follow by 
drawing with pencils and paper. 

After a lesson on the general features of the landscape, 
make a drawing of the house. The first drawing may con- 
sist of a front or side elevation of the house, a drawing which 
gives the facts of the form; that is, proportionate height and 
length, the shape of the roof, and arrangement of windows 
and door. Such drawings may he made to represent the street, 
with its group of houses, stores and other buildings. Let the 
children try to make memory drawings from the streets with 
which they are familiar. After the children can represent the 
front elevation of the house, showing good proportion, then 
it will be well to introduce the house in perspective. See 
illustration, page 125. 

29. Second Week, (a) Perspective. Call the attention 
of ths pupils to the appearance of the house when both side 
and front, or any two faces, are visible. Notice that one 
side may look very narrow from left to right, or joreshoriened, 
as we say, and that the roof also appears narrower, according 
to our position in relation to the house. Let the teacher 
illustrate these points by drawing a house on the blackboard 
in angular perspective; that is, at such an angle to the 
observer that two faces are visible. 

Draw the vertical corner that appears nearest to the 
observer, then place the remaining vertical corners, being 
careful to notice how far away they appear from the 
first vertical. Then draw the lines that represent the 
receding edges at the base of the house, letting them 
slant slightly upward toward the horizon from the corner 
nearest to the observer. All the lines in the roof will 
slant downward toward the horizon, being above the 
horizon line. 



Drawing 127 

(b) Lincoln's Birthplace. After the children can draw 
a simple house in perspective, give them a picture of the old 
log house so familiar as the birthplace of Lincoln, located in 
Hardin County, Kentucky. The children would enjoy 
collecting sticks and making a log house similar to this one, 
and the pupils in third grade could also plan the old-fash- 
ioned stick chimney. After the house is built, the children 
may represent the house, working from the small model. 

The free illustrations might include representations of some 
of the stories connected with the early life of Lincoln. 

(c) Valentines. The second week's work will of course 
include the making of valentines, in honor of the good old 
St. Valentine, who, it is said, went about doing good to people 
unawares. 

The freehand cutting and painting of hearts, with a simple 
love token printed neatly, would serve the purpose; or more 
elaborate ones may be planned which might be decorated 
with a flower border. Violets would be most appropriate 
for such a border. 

30. Third Week, (a) The National Flag. This week 
will include the work planned in commemoration of Wash- 
ington, and will be unusually rich in material for art study. 
Pictures and stories of Washington should precede the art 
lessons proper. The story of the making of the first flag by 
Betsy Ross, in Philadelphia, the arrangement and number 
of the stripes and stars, the significance of the colors, are 
interesting topics for such lessons. The teacher should write 
these three words on the blackboard, and add the meaning 
of each as it is brought out: White stands for purity; blue 
stands for loyalty or truth; red stands for bravery or love. 
Explain that the thirteen stripes represent the original 
thirteen colonies, while the stars signify the number of states 
that are now in the Union. The first flag had the thirteen 
stars arranged in a circle on the square blue field, while the 
stripes were the same as they are now. Ask the children 
how many red stripes there are, and how they are arranged. 
Then suggest that they make a picture of the flag with their 



128 Public School Methods 

colored crayons. The first and second grades could make 
a flag perfectly flat, while the third grade could represent 
it waving. 

(b) Soldier's Hat. The first grade would enjoy making 
a soldier's pointed hat, like that which Washington wore. 
Make it of white paper and paste a five-pointed star, made 
of blue paper, on the side of the crown. For directions for 
making the hat, see page 6i, Section 39. 

(c) Soldier's Figure. After the children have made the 
hats and have marched with their soldier hats and drum, 
let the art lesson follow in representing the soldier pose. 
See illustration on page 89. Use crayon, or represent with 
ink or black water colors in silhouette effect. 

Method. Draw lightly the skeleton figure as previously 
suggested, and then fill in to represent the shape of the body. 
31. Fourth Week. Illustrated Stories. This week 
could include the free illustrations and memory drawings 
suggested by the stories told of George Washington when a 
boy. The children will enjoy illustrating the story of the 
cherry tree and the colt story as told about Washington. 
The teacher should draw pictures on the blackboard to 
illustrate the birthplace of Washington, the old homestead 
at Westmoreland County, Virginia, also the front of the old 
Mt. Vernon home, the first flag, etc. The following song, 
sung to the tune of Marching through Georgia, would be 
appropriate : 

Sing a song of Washington, 

Our hero brave and true; 

Wave aloft our banner bright, 

Our own "red, white and blue;" 

Honor we today the man 

To whom our praise is due; 

Sing we of Washington, our herq.^ 

Test. Make a drawing to show the appearance of rec- 
tangular objects — house or box. 

Write the principle of rectangular perspective. 

* Laura Frost Armitage, from Holiday Songs, by Emilie Poulsson. 



Drawing 129 

Make a drawing to illustrate an appropriate blackboard 
sketch for this month. 

Write brief outline of work in drawing during February. 



The Spring is near, I know it well 
Though cold air wraps the town; 
Though on the hill and in the dale 
The shivering trees are brown. 

Though birds are hiding still afar, 
Though oak leaves rustle dry; 
Though frost is on the pasture bar, 
She's near! I'll tell you why: 

A sunbeam gave a merry sign; 
"Just follow me," he said; 
His dancing eyes shone into mine; 
I lifted up my head; 

I looked across a vale of snow. 
And there in hoods of gray 
The pussy willows whispered low, 
"The spring's not far away." 

Lydia Avery Coonley. 

32. The Month of Awakening. The month of March 
suggests many activities, relating both to work and play, 
that may be turned to account for lessons in art. 

March is the month of the awakening in nature, and the 
children will be interested to find the first buds on tree and 
shrub. The animal world, too, is especially interesting at 
this season, and if the children are studying any phase of 
animal life, it will afford good material for art study. The 
pet rabbit, cat or dog could be brought into the schoolroom 
for special study. 

33. First Week, (a) Illustrated Poems. Let the chil- 
dren dramatize or act out in play the work of the week, as 
this little rhyme suggests: 



130 Public School Methods 

On Monday when the day is fair, 
I wash my dolly's clothes; 
On Tuesday I can iron them 
Although it rains or snows; 
On Wednesday I go out to play, 
I take my dolly too; 
On Thursday I receive my friends, 
I've nothing else to do; 
Then Friday is the time to clean 
And set all things to rights; 
On Saturday my doU and I 
Walk out and see the sights. 

Ask the children to bring a toy tub, washboard and iron, 
a doll and doll carriage. Different children may be called 
upon to act out the different scenes. After the part has 
been dramatized, ask the children to make a memory draw- 
ing for each day. Let the work cover the lessons for the 
week, and use different mediums for the representation. The 
crayon will be the simplest medium, and the illustration 
of children's work will suggest the treatment.* 

The third grade might try an outline drawing and painting 
of the same in water colors, as suggested in the colored illustra- 
tion. See Color Plate section. 

(b) Paper Cutting. Freehand cutting of the various 
utensils used in the week's work would suggest such things 
at a bench, tub, pail, iron, broom or sweeper. These cut- 
tings may be mounted on black paper, which may be secured 
from a picture framer. It is the inexpensive black paper 
that is pasted at the back of pictures, and sells for a few cents 
per yard. 

34. Second Week. Birds and Branches, Ask the 
children if they have been collecting the budding tree branches. 
The pussy willows, hlacs, horse chestnut and poplar all make 
interesting and beautiful studies. Place the branches for 
the children to draw from as you did in the fall, by pinning 

» The teacher may be interested to know that the children in the third grade in 
the Training School, Western State Normal School, Kalamazoo, Mich., made the 
wash bench and the clothes horse that are pictured. 



132 Public School Methods 

them on the pasteboard easels and placing them on boards 
across the desks. 

Illustrate freely, by blackboard drawing, the soft, furry 
pussy willows. White crayon on black paper is also very 
effective, as well as the black crayon on manila paper. The 
horse chestnut buds, with the tender yellow-green leaflets 
and dark, waxy bud scales, are very beautiful represented 
in water colors. 

36. Third Week. Studies in Figures. The children 
will be playing the spring games, marbles, jumping rope, and 
baseball, about this time. The teacher will take advantage 
of the natural inclinations of the children to make interesting 
subjects for art study. Ask the children to choose some 
game, and let some few children be called upon to act out 
the game for the rest of the school to study. The silhouette 
would be the easiest way to express these figures suggesting 
action, but the skeleton lines should precede, showing po- 
sition of the body and limbs. In playing ball, let one boy 
act out the work of the pitcher, another the catcher, a third 
the one at bat. 

Caution. Let the game be played without the ball, as it 
might end disastrously to have the ball struck in the school- 
room. 

36. Fourth Week, (a) Outdoor Studies. The March 
winds suggest many picturesque situations. The flying of 
kites is very good, as is also the children running for their 
hats, their clothes and hair being tossed about by the wind. 
The March landscape, with smoke blowing from the chim- 
neys, the clothes blown on the line, are all typical of tl^e 
month of March. Ask the children to illustrate what the 
winds do, and after a conversational lesson let them choose 
some phase of the picture and represent it in their own way. 

If crayon is used, the picture may be commenced by draw- 
ing first the horizon line, then drawing the house, trees or 
children flying kites, or whatever the theme may be. If 
water color is used, proceed according to the method indi- 
cated in the fall, applying first a water wash, then with color 



134 Public School Methods 

or black, to indicate the tone of sk>', ground and figures. 
The figures should not be added until the background color 
is nearly, if not quite dry. 

(b) Picture Study. The pictures painted by Millet, the 
great French peasant painter, should be studied at this time. 
The children will learn much about how to treat a figxire in 
a simple manner, by studying and even attempting to copy 
The Sower, Feeding the Hens, Churning, Shepherdess Knitting, 
Peasant Grafting a Tree and First Steps. Millet has shown 
us, as perhaps no other artist, the beauty in everyday life. 
Millet was a peasant, bom amid the hardships of the poorer 
class, and he spent a life of toil in the effort to make popular 
the subjects which he had chosen to immortalize. Although 
his work was not appreciated during his lifetime, he has since 
been hailed as the Poet Painter of the Peasant. We are 
all his debtors in helping us to see and appreciate more the 
work of those who toil. Let these pictures by Millet be given 
a place of honor in every schoolroom, for "A good picture is 
a silent teacher." 

Test. Illustrate by figure drawing from a child posing, 
some work of the week as the rhyme suggests. Use crayons. 

Make a study of some budding tree branches. 

Write a brief outline of work done during March. 

APRIL 
The alder by the river 
Shakes out her powdery curls; 
The willow buds in silver 
For little boys and girls. 

The little birds fly over, 
And oh, how sweet they sing! 
To tell the happy children 
That once again 'tis spring. 

Celia Thaxter. 

37. Springtime. To enumerate the joys of life in the 
spring is to suggest abundant material for art study. The 
return of the birds, the new growth of the buds, the first 







ILLUSTRATING CHILDREN'S GAMES — CHILDREN'S WORK 



136 Public School Methods 

flowers, the delicate spring landscape, the animal life, and 
spring gardening are all fruitful sources for observation and 
expression. Ask if the children have been keeping a record 
of the return of the birds during the month. Find out if 
they have seen a robin, a blue jay, a bluebird or a flicker, 
and if they have helped to feed the birds and helped to build 
their nests by putting out some string and hair for them. It 
is of assistance to have bird pictures in the schoolroom. 
Those published by the Nature Study Publishing Co., Chicago, 
are good and inexpensive. Let the children copy some of 
the easiest ones; the crow, the robin, bluebird' and blue jay 
are comparatively easy. 

38. First Week, (a) A Study in Birds. Encourage the 
children to try to represent some of our bird friends. The 
crow or blackbird would be an easy one to commence with. 
Notice the form of the bird's body. It is very much like an 
egg in shape. Make this egg shape first, and then add the 
head, tail, wings and legs. Notice the position of the legs — 
how far back they are placed. Notice, also, the number and 
position of the toes. 

(b) Bird Booklet. Let the children try cutting the 
form of a bird. Use the bird cuttings to make a design for 
a bird booklet. Fold the paper to make a cover for the bird 
composition and pictures you have been making. Use a bird 
cutting and trace around the unit, and arrange the tracings 
to look well — two arranged symmetrically, or in a row across 
the top of the cover. Paint the units a flat color that will 
be in harmony with the color of the cover paper. 

The children should know that the picture of a bird is not 
suitable decoration for a cover, and the bird unit, in sil- 
houette, painted in flat colors, well arranged in the space, 
becomes a true decoration. 

39. Second Week. Garden Scenes. This is the time 
of year that gardens are made. Interest the children in rep- 
resenting the subject by such questions as follow: "Who 
has a garden at home? Can we make a school garden ? Who 
can bring a spade, a rake, a shovel, and a hoe for use in gard- 




5PRING 








t BIRD NOTES t 



iilwii 



SPRING BUDS AND FLOWERS; DESIGNS FOR SPRING BOOKLETS 



138 Public School Methods 

ening? What shall we plant in our school garden? Can 
we have both flowers and vegetables? Whose pictures do 
we think of in connection with gardening and farming? 
Have you a picture of Millet's Potato Planting, or Going to 
Work or The Man with the Hoe? Do you think you could 
represent some of the scenes from your gardening?" 

Let a boy pose as if he were spading, or raking, and rep- 
resent the figure with the proper action. The children in the 
first grade would enjoy cutting the pictures of the utensils 
and mounting the cuttings on dark paper. 

40. Third Week. Spring Landscape. The wonderful 
changes going on in nature will be very marked; "the green 
grass comes creeping everywhere," the trees are putting on 
their dresses of yellow-green, the streams are flowing, and 
the beauty of the spring landscape is upon the world. Rep- 
resent the spring landscape in water colors. Show the chil- 
dren some of the spring landscapes made famous by the great 
French artist, Camille Corot. His pictures. The Dancing 
Nymphs, The Children Dancing a Round, The Lake, The 
Willovus and many others reveal the delicate beauty of the 
springtime as few artists have expressed it. The willow 
was his favorite tree, and the early morning of spring was his 
chosen time for work. His groups of trees are considered 
some of the most masterful eft'ects ever portrayed on canvas. 
The work of Corot is a great contrast to that of Millet, 
although the two artists worked in the same little village and 
were great friends. 

41. Fourth Week, (a) Spring Flowers. The spring 
flowers are probably in abundance at this time, and the tulip, 
daffodil and fleur de lis are in the gardens, while the wild 
flowers include the hepatica, anemone, wake robin, Jack-in- 
the-pulpit and others. Choose the large simple ones rather 
than the small ones, and let the children paint the tulip, 
fleur de Hs or Jack-in-the-pulpit. 

Place the flower in position, so that the children may 
study its form and color. Use the water colors and paint 
the flower in the free brush method, without outlining. After 




PLATE FOUR 




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PLATE SEVEX 



140 Public School Methods 

the flower is painted, express the stem and leaves in proper 
color. See the color plate illustration of tulip in color. 

(b) May Baskets. Great interest will be shown this 
week in collecting the spring flowers and making a May- 
basket to leave at some friend's door on the eve of May day. 
Let the children plan a design in delicate colors on the May 
basket, using some of the spring flowers in a conventional 
way, as the illustrations suggest. 

Test. Make a design appropriate for the cover of a bird 
booklet. Use ink or black water colors. 

Paint a spring flower in water colors. 

Write a sketch of a story which would be a suitable 
subject for free illustration. 

Write a brief outline of work done during April. 



May shall make the world anew; 
Golden sun and silver dew, 
Money minted in the sky- 
Shall the earth's new garments buy. 
May shall make the orchards bloom; 
And the blossoms' fine perfume 
Shall set all the honey-bees 
Murmuring among the trees. 
May shall make the bud appear 
Like a jewel, crystal clear, 
'Mid the leaves upon the limb. 
Where the robin lilts his hymn. 
May shall make the wild flowers tell 
Where the shining snowflakes fell; 
Just as though each snowflake's heart 
By some secret, magic art, 
Were transmuted to a flower. 
Is there such another, pray, 
Wonder-making month as May? 

Frank Dempster Sherman. 

42. Animal Life. Are we all partakers of this "wonder- 
making month of May?" If necessary, a part of the time 
4evoted to ^rt. shoiild be given to the study and enjoyment 




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ANIMAL STUDIES IN CRAYON 



142 Public School Methods 

of this "making of the world anew." What joy to find the 
first spring blossoms, to hear the song of the birds as they 
flit from one lacy tree top to another! To watch the life 
in the brooks, the water bugs, fishes, frogs and frogs' eggs, 
and the new life on the farm, the little chickens, rabbits, 
pigs, lambs and calves — ^all these are of great interest to the 
children. Let us collect pictures of animals and learn some- 
thing of the life and works of the great animal painters. 
Rosa Bonheur was one of the most successful animal painters. 
Do you know her pictures the Horse Fair, The Return from the 
Fair, Brittany Cattle, Oxen Ploughing, Flock of Sheep, On the 
Alert? These represent some of the best animal pictures 
ever painted. Edwin Landseer, the English artist, was 
especially successful in representing dogs. His pictures. 
Dignity and Impudence, A Member of the Humane Society, 
The Spaniels, his own portrait with two favorite dogs, called 
The Connoisseur, and also his picture of the blacksmith shop 
called Shoeing the Bay Mare, are among the best known of 
his works. 

43. First Week, (a) Study of Animals. Ask the chil- 
dren to bring some of their pets to school, such as rabbits, 
chickens, or a gentle dog or cat. Let the children have a 
chance to see the animals for some time before an attempt 
is made to represent them. Call their attention to the form 
of the body. Is it long or short? How are the legs attached, 
and what is the shape of the head, ears, etc. ? After the chil- 
dren have answered these questions, ask them if they would 
like to represent the animal as a shadow picture, using black 
paint or water colors. It will be easier for the pupil to begin 
with the form of the body and add the head and limbs. 

(b) Designs. After a lesson on making the animal form 
in silhouette, try using it as a unit of design for a compo- 
sition cover. Make a cutting of the animal form which you 
can use as a pattern, and trace around it, making a border 
design. See illustration. The animal can be used also in a 
design which may be worked out on a book bag, working in 
cross stitch. 



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CONVENTIONALIZED DESIGNS 



144 Public School Methods 

Clay modeling may be utilized as a fine medium to ex- 
press the animal forms. 

44. Second Week. Stained Glass Effects. What gor- 
geous colors in the spring flowers! Lead the children to see 
that the daffodil, buttercup, dandelion and sunflower are the 
yellow ones, and that the orange flowers are the tulip and 
nasturtium; the red flowers are the geranium, carnation and 
some tulips. Ask the children which flower is green. (The 
Jack-in-the-pulpit.) "Which are blue? (The forget-me-not, 
the blue-bells, bachelor buttons, love-in-the-mist.) Which 
ones are violet? (The violet, thistle, fleur de lis and clematis.) 
Ask them also such questions as the following: "Where have 
you seen all these beautiful colors besides in the rainbow and 
the ray of light through a prism? Did you ever see them in 
the church windows? Let us make some stained glass effects." 

Method. Wash the paper over with a water wash, and 
then touch the colors in fresh from the cakes, and let them 
blend together on the wet surface. You may make some of 
the windows to represent the colors in the tulip, bright red, 
orange and yellow, with some green like the leaves added, 
or like the fleur de lis, with violet and green blended together. 

The first grade could cut out a quarterfoil of black and 
paste over the colored paper to represent the black leaded 
lines. The second grade could cut a simple Gothic shape 
like the church window, while the third grade could cut the 
Gothic shape with a circle in the upper part. If you have 
no black paper, the manila paper may be colored black 

46 Third and Fourth Weeks. Articles for the Home. 
Open the lesson with a few questions, such as those following : 
"How would you like to make something very pretty to take 
home for your mamma? What shall it be ? We want to make 
something all ourselves." The first grade could make and 
decorate a holder; the second grade, a little mat; and the 
thi'rd grade, a top for a pillow. The material may be of 
burlap or denim; either would be good and inexpensive for 
use in this construction work. The iron-holder is square, and 
therefore you must make a design and cut a pattern from a 



146 Public School Methods 

square paper. The rosette, cut by folding the paper three 
times, would make a good form. It may be cut with straight 
or curved lines. 

The conventionalized leaf or flower would make an ap- 
propriate decoration for the mat or pillow. Cut the pattern 
or stencil of paper, and then trace around it and paint it with 
your water colors, or color it with crayola crayons, which is a 
waxy medium, and rubs off easily on the cloth. The wax crayon 
is made permanent by pressing on reverse side with a hot 
iron. Do not use colors too bright and crude, but make them 
gray by using a little of all three colors in any color you use. 
The dull greens and browns are the most appropriate colors. 

The design may be carried out on squared paper, and then 
the cross stitch used on the fabric. If the cross stitch is 
chosen, a coarse canvas in which the threads can be easily 
counted should be used. 

Third grade children can often lend their services in 
ornamenting curtains or other draperies for the schoolroom. 
On a large object let each child work one unit in the design. 

The climax of the year's work should be something made 
for use in the home, and beautified by the taste and skill of 
the little workers. The teacher should take advantage of 
opportunities as they come to impart lessons of good taste 
in the decorating and furnishing of the home. The construc- 
tion and furnishing of a large doll's house by the children 
affords an excellent means for carr3dng out this plan. In 
furnishing this house, the children will use their construction 
and art work. Wall paper, curtains, rugs and furniture should 
all be made by them. 

Test. Make a drawing from an animal. 

Draw a design from flower or animal form to use as decora- 
tion for children's work in construction. 

JUNE 
O lovely June! O lovely June! 
You're everjrthing together; 
Your skies so fair, 
Your flowers so rare. 
Oh stay, delightful weather! 




I 



ClnVmi^ W. Ftct.y^v|t^^t Tcar^tvg 



childrsnIs wosk 



148 Public School Methods 

46. The Annual Exhibition. The month of June has been 

called the birthday of the year, and certainly everything in 
nature has life in its fullest, and we are all re-created by the 
fullness thereof. To the children June stands for picnics, circus 
day, fishing, wading or swimming, closing days of school, and 
vacation time with life in "God's Out-of-Doors." Are you 
planning to have an exhibition of the children's work, and to 
invite the parents to visit the school? The opportunity of 
seeing the regular school work would be enjoyed by all parents. 
The best way to exhibit the children's work in art is to 
arrange the studies on the gray pasteboard mounts. Do not 
place too many on one mount ; six papers 6x9 inches, or three 
9x12 inches, placed with equal marginal spaces, would be 
acceptable mounting. Paste the studies with a little LePage's 
glue at the four comers. Fasten the mounts together by tying 
them with gray cord through holes punctured at equal dis- 
tances from the edge. Three hung together, if placed vertically, 
or four if arranged horizontally, would make a line extending 
from the picture moulding to the lower edge of the blackboard. 
Place loops at the edge of the upper mount, and hang with 
picture hooks. A screen covered with burlap is a very con- 
venient means of making class exhibits, and it is especially 
desirable that exhibits of all the children's work should be 
made occasionally. 

47. First Week. Invitations. Tell the children that they 
may make invitations to send to their mammas and papas, 
asking them to come to the exhibition. The first grade might 
print the single word COME, and the date. The second 
and third grades could paint the words Please Come to Our 
Exhibition, and the date. 

Use colored paper, or tint the manila paper, if you cannot 
secure the colored. Use a sheet 6x9 inches, folding it to 
make a little booklet. Decorate the outside page with a simple 
unit of design, using either a conventional flower or animal 
unit. Paint in black or appropriate colors. The brown-eyed 
Susan would be a good flower form. Use yellow and brown in 
this study. On the inside page print the invitation. Let the 




CIRCUS oax ntnoR\tb 



CHILDREN S WORK 



150 Public School Methods 

children practice the printing several times before making the 
invitations. Print the words on the board to show the chil- 
dren good lettering. 

48. Second Week, (a) Outdoor Studies. This will be 
a good season to plan a school picnic. What good times the 
children will have, preparing the lunch, setting the table, 
playing games, perhaps wading, fishing or swimming! Tell- 
the children to illustrate something they like to do at a picnic ; 
show in a picture what they like to play. They may show, 
too, if it was by the lake or river or in the woods that the 
picnic occurred, 

(b) Animal Studies. Perhaps you can introduce such 
a lesson as this at a time when a circus is coming to town. 
Ask the children to show some of the animals, and begin by 
making a picture of the elephant in crayon or water colors. 
The teacher should obtain good pictures of the animals. 
Freehand cutting and clay modeling of the animals would be 
very good lessons for form study. See illustrations of elephants 
in silhouette and clay modeling, showing the children's work. 

(c) Flags. Flag Day comes on the 14th of June. Let the 
children celebrate by making a picture of the flag on the 
blackboard in colored crayons ; let them copy from the draw- 
ing or from the flag itself, making a study in color, using 
colored crayons or water colors. 

Print on the board and have the children recite any 
appropriate stanza, such as the following: 

'Tis the star spangled banner 
Oh, long may it wave, 
O'er the land of the free. 
And the home of the brave. 

49. Third Week. Art Portfolio. Make a portfolio in 
which to place the art work of the year, so that each pupil 
may carry his work home. Use heavy wrapping paper and 
fold the paper as indicated in the illustration. The full size 
of the sheet from which this may be cut should be 14x18 
inches, to accommodate the drawing papers 9x12 inches. 



Drawing 151 

The children can be directed to do the folding and cutting 
necessary to make this simple portfolio. 

Directions. Take the paper, 14 x i8 inches, or larger, if 
a larger portfolio is desired, and fold all edges down to make a 
2 -inch lap on all sides. Then fold the papers through the 
center, making a portfolio form. Cut the corners as indicated 
in the illustration. Cut also the angles from the ends of the 
center fold, and allow it to fold more easily. The portfolio 
should then be decorated. Ask the children if they would 
like to put a border of flowers or animals across the top, or 
use two only, as the illustration of animals in silhouette sug- 
gests. The rabbit or duck would be easiest for the first grade, 
while the squirrel, cat, bird or fishes would be more difficult. 
The third grade pupils might print the word A RT in simple 
black letters. The flower units suggested on the same sheet 
could be used in a border, or a single unit might be placed on 
the cover of the portfolio. Try making the flower units in free 
brush strokes without a pattern. The animal form could first 
be cut and traced. 

Use black, or mix red, yellow and blue together, making 
a tertiary color. This color will be harmonious with any col- 
ored paper used. 

After the exhibition, let the children collect their work and 
place it in the portfolio to take home with them. 

Test. Make a design appropriate for a stencil to use for 
a pillow top or curtains. Carry the design out in appro- 
priate colors. 

Draw a design to show an appropriate decoration for a 
Christmas gift made by your pupils. 

Write a brief outline of work done during June. 

PICTURE STUDY 

60. Value. We cannot overestimate the influence of pic- 
tures on the growing mind. We, as teachers, have much to 
do to counteract the baneful influence of the so-called "funny" 
sheet in the newspapers. Children, as a usual thing, see very 
little high class art except what the teacher places before 
them. Let us try to have at least one beautiful picture in the 



152 Public School Methods 

schoolroom that will appeal to the children, and at the same 
time give them an introduction to something of high grade. 

Studies in color are particulai-ly attractive to children, but 
it is difficult to obtain really first-class reproductions in color, 
and original paintings are often beyond our means. The strong 
poster-like color prints published by the German houses are 
very satisfactory. They are sold by the Art Education Co., 
215 Wabash Ave., Chicago. 

51. Method. Pictiu:e study in the primary grades should 
be conducted in a most skilful way, in order that the greatest 
good may result. Too much analyzing and moralizing is 
not necessary. The picture should be presented to the class in 
order to more fully illumine a thought. The children should 
have the opportunity to live with the picture for several days 
and a brief description should be given by the teacher before 
they are called upon for a description, either oral or written. 

Pictures are introduced into the schoolroom in order that 
the imagination may be enriched, the emotions cultivated, 
the love of the beautiful fostered, and the love of the good 
made permanent. Besides the large pictures, which should be 
hung low enough for the children to see and enjoy, there 
could be introduced into the second and third grades the small 
prints for individual study. Inexpensive prints may be 
obtained from the Perry Pictures Co., Tremont Temple, 
Boston, Mass.; Cosmos Picture Co., 296 Broadway, New York; 
George P. Brown & Co., 38 Lovett St., Beverly, Mass., and the 
Turner Picture Co., Boston, Mass. Catalogues from these 
firms are helpful guides in choosing pictures suitable for use 
in primary grades. 

62. Selection of Pictures. Below is given a list of pictures 
that have been chosen with regard to their story- telling char- 
acteristics, or because they are of such subjects as are especially 
interesting to children. Pictures of animals, children at work 
or play, and home scenes are those that attract the young child : 

(a) French Artists. Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, The 
Return from the Fair, Ploughing, Cattle in Brittany, Scotch Cattle, Lion 
and Lioness, Sheep; Millet, First Steps, Bringing Home the New-Bom 



Drawing 153 

Calf, Feeding the Hens, Feeding her Birds, Peasant Grafting an Apple 
Tree, The Sower, Sheep Shearing, Potato Planting, Shepherdess Knitting, 
Churning, Spinning; Corot, Children Dancing a Round, The Dance of 
the Nymphs, The Storm, The Lake, Landscape with Willows; Breton, 
Song of the Lark; Julien Dupre, Hay-Making, The Balloon, Escaped 
Cow; Troyon, Oxen Going to Work, Return to the Farm; Jacque, The 
Sheepfold; Emile Adan, The Haymaker; LeRoUe, Shepherdess, By 
the River, Arrival of the Shepherds; LeBrun, Mme. LeBrun and 
Daughter, Girl with a Muff. 

(b) English Artists. Landseer, Shoeing the Bay Mare, Dignity 
and Imptidence, Member of Humane Society, The Connoisseur, King 
Charles Spaniels, A Deer Family; Reynolds, Infant Samuel, Angel 
Heads, Age of Innocence; Millais, Princes in the Tower. 

(c) American Artists. Gilbert Stuart, Portraits of George and 
Martha Washington; Boughton, Pilgrims Going to Church, John Alden 
and Priscilla; Winslow Homer, Fog Warning. 

(d) Dutch Artists. Ronner, Pictures of Cats; Paul Potter, 
Landscape with Animals; Mauve, Sheep Pictures. 

(e) Flemish Artists. Van Dyk, Portrait of Children of Charles 
I, Baby Stuart. 

(f) German Artists. Schreyer, Arabs on the March, Arabian 
Outposts; Hofmann, The Childhood of Christ, In the Temple with the 
Doctors, St. Cecilia; Meyer von Bremen, The Pet Bird. 

(g) Spanish Artists. Velasquez, Priiu:e Balthazar, Infanta 
Margarita, Infanta Maria Teresa; Murillo, Children of the Shell, Dice 
Players, Beggar Boys, St. Anthony of Padua, Divine Shepherd. 

(h) Italian Artists. Raphael, Madonna of the Chair, Sistine 
Madonna, Madonna of the Goldfinch; Luca della Robbia, Singing Boys; 
Titian, Madonna of the Rabbit; Guido Reni, Aurora. 

63. Aids. The following books and magazines are helpful 
in teaching art in the primary grades : 

(a) Text-Books. Text-books in Art Education for Primary 
Grades. (Cloth). Prang Education Co., 378 Wabash Ave., Chicago. 

Progressive Lessons in Art Education. (Paper). Prang Education 
Co., Chicago. 

Parallel Course Drawing Books. (Paper) . D. C. Heath & Co., Chicago. 

The Applied Arts Drawing Books. Atkinson, Mentzer & Grover, 
223 Washington St., Chicago. 

Talks on Drawing, Painting, Making, Decorating, for Primary 
Teachers. Lou Eleanor Colby. Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago. 

(b) Magazines. The School Arts Book. Davis Press, Worcester, 
Mass. The School Century. George W. Jones, Oak Park, Illinois, 
primary Education. Educational Publishing Co,, Boston, 



LESSON FIFTEEN 

SPELLING AND PENMANSHIP 



1. What Spelling Includes. The ordinary definition for 
spelling is, "Naming or writing the letters of a word in their 
proper order." This, however, is far from a complete defi- 
nition, when the teacher sees the mental processes involved 
in good spelling. Spelling is more complex than a mere 
memory exercise upon letters in a given order. Perception, 
imagination, concentrated attention and general intelligence 
are all needed. Many repetitions are necessary, and the law 
of association must be called frequently into play before the 
work of memory is rendered easy and sure. 

Perception of forms, similar and dissimilar, nearly alike 
and wholly unlike, as wholes or in parts, must be established 
as the first step in spelling, for spelling is quite largely a 
matter of seeing forms with absolute accuracy. It is evident, 
then, that every exercise which strengthens this power in a 
child is a sure, unmistakable help toward accurate spelling. 

The above statements apply particularly to written spell- 
ing. To aid a child to become an expert in oral spelling, in 
addition to the eye-training (visualization) there must also 
be definite training of the ear, to enable it to perceive and 
distinguish between sounds with the same accuracy as that 
with which the eye recognizes resemblances and differences 
of forms. In fact, sense-training of all kinds will help 
children to become better spellers, because sense- training 
quickens and strengthens all the perceptive powers. 

Those pupils who are naturally dreamy, who do not see 
or hear quickly the things that are going on around them 
because "their wits are wool-gathering," are almost certain 
to be poor spellers. On the contrary, those children whose 
perceptive powers are always alert, whose powers of attention 
and retention are good, are nearly always good spellers. 
154 



Spelling and Penmanship 155 

Fhe exceptions are due to lack of interest or to inability to 
picture the word mentally. 

2. Preparatory Work. Spelling is too often imposed upon 
children in such a way that they feel it to be a mere task, 
[he usefulness of which they are unable to see. When the 
fvork is presented in this manner, poor results are sure to 
[oUow. The teacher should always bear in mind that spelling 
is a mode of expression. The child cannot express his 
thought in writing until he knows how to spell the words he 
wishes to use. When he feels the need of spelling as an aid 
to expression, he is ready to incur the labor necessary to 
acquire the art. In the first and second grades, then, read- 
ing, spelling and writing are so closely related that there 
should be no attempt to separate them. The child's first 
spelling lesson occurs when he is first asked to write a word 
Dr sentence used in his reading lesson. (See Volume One, 
page 30, Subsection b.) 

Again, all exercises which aid in developing the powers of 
Dbservation are aids to spelling. This applies especially to 
those lessons which promote accurate visualization. Every 
word learned as a whole from blackboard, chart or book; 
every word built with splints, pegs, lentils or alphabets; 
every word copied with crayon or pencil on blackboard, slate 
or paper; every word properly pronounced, and every word 
learned from the recognization of its syllables — all these, 
though not spoken of as lessons in spelling, are really 
elementary phases of this subject. 

3. Oral and Written Spelling. During the first half of 
the first year, all of the spelling exercises are incidental and 
written. They consist first in copying words and sentences 
written upon the blackboard by the teacher, or presented 
to the class in some other written or printed form. The 
second step consists in writing these words and sentences 
from memory. The child must obtain a correct image of 
the form of the word before he can reproduce it in writing. 
This makes spelling in the primary grade purely a form study. 

Oral spelling may be introduced gradually in the second 



156 Public School Methods 

half of the first year, and oral lessons can be increased in 
frequency until in the third grade pupils may be required to 
spell all new words orally, as well as write them. Oral 
spelling is of value chiefly for the reasons that it aids in pro- 
nunciation and it adds the sound of the word to its visual 
form. Ear-minded children learn to spell orally with less 
effort than by writing, while children who are strongly eye- 
minded are probably assisted but very little by oral spelling. 
In practical life, the amount of written spelling exacted from 
the individual is much greater than the amount of oral 
spelling. 

4. The First Lessons. When the child first begins to copy 
thfe words that the teacher writes upon the blackboard, his 
effort is given to reproducing the form, and his attention 
should be fixed upon the word as a whole. He has not 
arrived at the stage where he can analyze the word, that is, 
separate it into its letters. At first nothing should be said 
about letters. If the child is not able to reproduce the form, 
erase his work and ask him to look at the word and try again. 
Do not call his attention to the mistakes he has made; this 
only impresses the wrong form upon his mind, when it is the 
correct form that we wish him to remember. By strictly 
adhering to this plan, the teacher soon leads the pupils to 
study the forms of words carefully, and this is of the greatest 
importance in making a good beginning in spelling. If 
primary teachers generally would follow this simple plan, 
much of the time and energy would be saved which is now 
wasted in teaching first grade pupils to spell, and at the 
same time better results would be secured. 

When the pupils have become accustomed to reproducing 
word forms, attention may be called to the letters. This 
should be done incidentally, as the teacher assists the chil- 
dren in writing the words and sentences. She may say, 
" Mary, your w is too large ; James, you have made an n for a 
u; look at the word on the board and see how it is written," 
and so on, as she ' goes from pupil to pupil. Oral spelling 
introduces a complete analysis of the word by letter. 



Spelling and Pemnanship 157 

In the first three grades all spelling lessons should be 
related to the lessons in other branches, from which the words 
should be taken. No spelling book is needed in these grades, 
and unless forced upon the children by the course of study, 
it should not be introduced. 

5. How Much to Spell. Some superintendents require a 
maximum of one hundred words as the work of the first year 
classes in spelling. These words are chosen chiefly from 
the reader in regular use, and the children are required to 
write these correctly from dictation and to spell them orally, 
as well. Other superintendents make a demand of two new 
words daily for the first term, three for the second and four for 
the third, leaving one day of the week for a review exercise. 

For teachers of little or no experience, a definite assign- 
ment of work by superintendents or principals is fortunate, 
since it prevents the mistake of trying to accomplish more 
than can possibly be done well. Teachers of mature exper- 
ience say little or nothing about spelling during the first 
term, knowing that time must be allowed for the children 
to learn letter names and letter forms and the ready recog- 
nition of word forms. 

For the first term, then, let the oral spelling lessons be 
held in abeyance, and written spelling be emphasized by 
frequent exercises in visualization and by having classes 
build words and copy words, with the written copy always 
before them. 

Oral spelling, as such, may begin with the second term. 
By that time, the class has a small written vocabulary defi- 
nitely established as a part of its usable school material. 
From this select at first the words for the oral work that have 
become most familiar. The class will be pleased by pro- 
motion to the dignity of sharing the formal written spelling 
exercise with the pupils of the second and third grades. 

6. Plan for Written Spelling. At a given signal, all 
desks are cleared of books and all other materials. Spelling 
slips and pencils are quickly distributed by helpers. Each 
child writes his name at the top of his spelling slip. The 



158 Public School Methods 

teacher takes her place in front of the first grade, says "Ready," 
and requires every pupil's eyes to meet her own. Then she 
pronounces clearly and carefully, once only, a word, requiring 
the class in concert to pronounce the same word before any 
one begins to write it. The teacher now passes to the front 
of the second grade and proceeds as before, giving a word 
from the lesson for the second grade. In a similar way she 
pronounces for the third grade; then again for the first grade, 
and so on. When all the words are written, helpers collect 
the slips and pencils.^ 

For the second and third grades, lists of words are chosen 
as before from the other subjects taught in those grades. 
Not more than four new words daily should be required at 
the beginning of the second year, but the number may be 
increased in the daily lesson to ten words by the addition of 
six words from review lessons. The new words may be 
increased to five for the third term of the second year. Once 
each week oral spelling may be given for review, and once a 
month for a general review of all words previously taught. 

Begin the third year with six new words, reviewing four, 
for the daily lesson. Give an oral review once each week, 
and a general monthly review as before. During the year, 
gradually increase the number until the class learns ten new 
words and reviews ten in the daily lesson. This is the max- 
imum for the last of the year. 

Cautions, (i) In assigning the lesson, great care should 
be taken to use such words as will require about the same 
time and effort from day to day. 

1 The plan of collecting pencils is peculiarly unhygienic unless conducted in 
a proper manner. To collect all the pencils in a box and allow any child to take 
any pencil therefrom is a frequent source of the spread of disease. To obviate 
objections to the collection of pencils, the following simple plan may be followed: 
Procure for each row of seats a block of wood about the size of a brick, and have 
bored in it as many holes of the right size to hold each a pencil as there are seats 
Each pencil may be easily marked by cutting a sliver from the unsharpened end 
and printing on the cut surface of the pencil an initial letter. As helpers pass the 
block around each pupil stands his pencil upright in the hole wlych corresponds to 
his seat. When not in use the blocks stand upon the teacher's desk. The helpers 
can distribute the pencils very quickly by passing down the aisles and allowing 
each child to take his own pencil from the block. 



Spelling and Penmanship 159 

(2) Guard those who are naturally deficient in the qualities 
that are needed to make good spellers from thinking that 
they cannot learn to spell. They must be made to believe 
that they can spell, their interest must be aroused by varied 
devices and ther lessons in visualization must be strengthened 
by much repetition, 

7. Deficient Children. For children who are weak in the 
power to image a word as a whole, or to retain the image 
after it has been given, spelling lists of disconnected words 
is cruelly hard and of very little value. Such pupils should 
be encouraged to spell more frequently than others of the 
class by calling upon them to spell all or nearly all of the 
words in the general lessons that the teacher wishes to write 
upon the board. They should also be asked to write short 
sentences formed and dictated by the teacher from the words 
of the lessons. These two plans bring the law of association 
to aid the memory, while in spelling from lists memory is 
aided by repetition only. To give these children the exact 
meaning of the words to be spelled, brings again the law of 
association to strengthen the power of retention. 

Oftentimes the whole trouble of the poor spellers comes 
from lack of full attention. Study the pupils, note the 
attitude of the body, the expression of the face, the look in 
the eyes. Then see that the poor spellers are made wide 
awake in every sense, and keep them so by requiring answers 
so often that while the lesson lasts they have no chance to 
become listless or lethargic. All this must be managed 
with great tact in order not to have their classmates notice 
that these children are doing most of the work in spelling. 
In other classes, keep them alert, but do not require them to 
do more than their fair share of work in subjects which they 
understand and prepare as well as their classmates. Com- 
mend their successes, particularly in spelling. 

Encourage and stimulate effort by explaining how essen- 
tial good spelling is. Even the poorest laborer needs to 
know how to spell when he writes a letter to his friends, 
or orders his coal and groceries. Also explain how much 



160 Public School Methods 

more easily a person gets a good position in a business house 
when he can spell his words correctly, knows how to use 
capitals and punctuation marks intelligently and has a neat, 
legible and rapid handwriting. By such means stimulate 
ambition and at the same time show the close association 
between language, penmanship and spelling in ther appli- 
cation to the practical needs of life. Of one thing we may 
all be sure. These pupils will never become accurate spellers 
until interest and ambition are fully aroused and the right 
methods of work become fixed habits. 

8. How to Study Spelling Lessons. There is little doubt 
that more time is wasted over spelling than over any other 
subject. Pupils are allowed too long a time for study. 
Teachers, too, often fail to indicate the words that need the 
most time, so the children give as much time to the study 
of ant as they do to gnat; as much to new as knew or gnu; 
as much to men as to people, etc. 

Attention during the study period should be keen, im- 
pressions vivid, and effort concentrated upon that which 
is really difficult. As a rule, however, the children are 
hastily told to " study these words twenty times; then write 
them twenty times, each; then put each word into a sen- 
tence." Perhaps a part of the words really need but one 
good, keen look to fix their images in the memory; others 
need all that has been asked and, possibly, a great deal 
more, in order to get the perplexing combination of letters 
accurately and permanently placed. 

Again, the teacher simply points to the list of words and 
says, "Study your spelling till time to recite," when that 
time is, perhaps, forty minutes later. The children know 
they have a long time and a short list of words ; hence, they 
dream away the long minutes, putting no mental effort into 
the so-called studying and getting less benefit out of forty 
minutes than they should gain from ten minutes of brisk 
work with every faculty alert and attention at its best. The 
teacher who is responsible for such a waste of time deserves 
severe censure for gross ignorance of the fundamental laws of 



Spelling and Penmanship 161 

teaching, when every educational paper of the present day 
is teeming with suggestions leading to rational methods of 
study and recitation. 

Supposel then, twenty minutes each day are allowed for 
the formal spelling lesson. Use the first fifteen for having 
the words written, as before explained; the papers corrected; 
sentences, each of which contains some word from the list, 
given orally and written upon the board ; attention called to 
the use of capitals and marks of punctuation in these sen- 
tences; errors corrected therein by recalling what has been 
taught incidentally in the reading lessons. Vary the written 
lessons at times by using slates and blackboard instead 
of spelling papers. 

Use the last five minutes for the preparation of the next 
lesson, showing the class how to study it. From the new 
words found earlier in the day in the reading lesson, sense- 
training or nature study, select one by one until the required 
number is reached. Write each word clearly and distinctly 
upon the board, separating the syllables by a little space 
and placing the accent mark in the proper place. Pro- 
nounce each word and have the class pronounce it in concert. 
Call attention to silent letters, compound words, possessive 
mark and capitals, if any occur, and call for the meanings 
of doubtful words. If there should be John's in the lesson, 
caution the class to be careful about the apostrophe and the 
capital letter. When the word is spelled orally, require the 
class to pronounce the word, and spell it as, " Capital J-o-h-n- 
apostrophe-s," naming the capital and the apostrophe. 
In a compound word, the hyphen should always be written 
and should be named until the habit of writing is so firmly 
fixed as to render the naming unnecessary. 

Cautions. (i) Train pupils to capitalize no words in lists 
except those that are commenced with capitals in all cases. 

(2) Follow the same rule for use of the hyphen, apostrophe, 
etc. After all the words are written, have the class pro- 
nounce and spell orally, as follows: "hat'ter (pause) h-a-t 
(pause) t-e-r, hatter." This plan teaches syllabication, and 



162 Public School Methods 

pupils learn unconsciously and easily where to separate a 
word at the end of a hne when that becomes necessary. It 
also insures clearer enunciation, correct pronunciation, and 
prevents errors in spelling due to misunderstanding the word. 

(3) Call attention to difficulties, thus: "You need to be 
very careful about these words. Notice the silent k in 
knew, and the silent g in gnat and the apostrophe here in 
John's." 

After five minutes of this kind of work, briskly done, 
not more than ten minutes of study will be needed to master 
any lesson likely to be given. 

(4) In case only ten minutes, or fifteen, at the most, can 
be secured for the spelling recitation, see that this prepara- 
tory treatment is given when the words occur in the reading 
or other lessons. 

(5) No child should be trusted to study his spelling lesson 
without this preparatory help, since he is liable to see 
incorrectly or to miscall the words, and then go on repeating 
his mistakes all through his study period. 

9. Visualization. At some time during each day, have a 
very brief exercise in the visualization of words. Get atten- 
tion, write a word, and, after a moment, erase and ask the 
class to name it. It is better not to continue this exercise 
more than two minutes with the first grade children, because 
it demands intensity of attention, and the erasing is done 
so quickly that the strain to the eye is severe from the 
instantaneous and repeated change of focus required. 

Frequently vary this drill by substituting objects for 
words. Show the object, instantly remove or cover it and 
call on the class to name it. Also train the pupils to look 
at a new word, close the eyes or look away and instantly tell 
if they can see the word with their eyes shut. While their 
eyes are still closed apply such a test as the following: 

"What letter do you see first?" "What is the next let- 
ter?" "The next?" and so on till all are named. Suppose 
the word is John, and the first child says he sees j-o-h-n. 
When he is done, the teacher asks, " Do you all see it as 



Spelling and Penmanship 163 

Fred saw it?" One child replies, ''I saw a capital j first." 
The teacher may say, "Yes, that's what I saw." "Now let 
us look at the word and see just how it is." Or she may 
say, "What do you think about it, Fred? Should there be 
a capital / or small j there?" Fred will probably agree with 
the correction and in that case should be asked "Why?" 
If he really knows his lesson, he will be able to say, " There 
should be a capital / because John is a boy's name." 

10. Value of the Imaging Power. This drill in imaging 
will help any child to learn to spell more rapidly than any 
other one exercise we have ever tested, and it is particularly 
helpful to the "backward" speller of any grade. This 
visualization is the quickest test for written spelling and is 
what most people rely upon when obliged to pass judgment 
upon the written work of themselves or others. 

11. The Law of Association. In the primary grades, help 
the pupils by giving or illustrating the meaning of all the 
words they have to spell. Help them, too, by having many 
lessons consisting of words that fall into natural groups, as 
the names of the parts of a plant. For example, sunflower, 
blossom, leaves, stalk, seeds, roots, large, yellow, broad, green, 
tall, rough, hairy, brown, many, hardy, strong. Again, the 
lesson may be based upon units of liquid or dry measure, 
as gill, pint, quart, gallon; pint, quart, peck, bushel. 

Familiar things to eat or drink; articles of clothing for 
children, for men and for women; articles of furniture for 
the kitchen, the dining room, the sleeping room and the 
parlor; names of vehicles; names of domestic animals; grocer- 
ies to be ordered for breakfast, for dinner or for supper; 
fruits; meats; names of common diseases — all these subjects 
will furnish valuable material for many lists. 

Children who have had their perceptive powers well 
trained learn to spell many things from posters and other 
advertisements. We recall giving a second grade class an 
interesting story that contained the names of many wild 
animals, such as elephant, leopard, tiger, rhinoceros and 
monkey. We were certain that the children had never 



164 Public School Methods 

before met such words in a reading lesson. After a brief 
inspection of the story a delighted smile passed over the 
faces of many in the class and to our astonishment the chil- 
dren read the long, difficult paragraph with ease and much 
evident satisfaction. Upon inquiry, we found that they had 
learned these words from the circus bills then adorning all 
available vacant space in town. 

12. Spelling and Drawing. To lend fresh interest to the 
study of spelling, have the children make outline drawings 
of the objects for which the given words stand. Such an 
exercise as this may be given in three ways, viz.: (i) The 
teacher draws the outline forms upon the blackboard, and 
wiites the name clearly under each. The children then 
study and copy both drawing and name with the teacher's 
work in plain sight. (2) The teacher places the . outlines 
upon the board, but writes no words. The children copy 
the outlines and supply the needed words. (3) The teacher 
writes the words only. The children copy the words and 
supply the drawings. 

After a set of words, four or five in number, has been 
given in these three ways, a review of the lesson may be 
called for, in which the children are told to write the list of 
v/ords from memory and supply the proper drawings without 
any copy. 

13. Spelling in Sentences. In the first year, have the 
children copy a good many short sentences with alphabets, 
pencil and crayon. Occasionally have a short sentence 
written from dictation. Also have children copy quotations 
they have memorized, stanzas of easy poetry, directions for 
calling classes, etc. The thought is a great aid to the 
spelling. 

During the second year, continue this copying and dic- 
tation, but extend the work to include longer sentences 
and entire paragraphs. In the third grade, the children 
will be glad to copy entire poems, fables, proverbs or other 
selections from blackboard and books. They will also take 
great pride in writing much longer exercises from dictation. 



Spelling and Pen7na7iship 165 

Cautions, (i) Be careful that everything given to the 
children in these ways is of a nature to afford them genuine 
culture. The memory is plastic and should be employed 
only upon things of real value. Anything else is sheer 
waste of opportunity. 

(2) See that capital letters, marks of punctuation and 
syllabication are given the same attention as the letters that 
form the word. Make no deviations here from standard 
usage elsewhere. 

14. Rules for Teachers, (i) Throughout all the grades, 
see that every written exercise is a lesson in spelling. Insist 
upon accuracy and neatness from the first day to the last. 

(2) Do not often conduct the written lesson for the sake 
of the spelling alone. Inculcate a truth, and let the spelling 
be a necessary adjunct to its expression. 

(3) When dictating words or sentences for the children 
to spell, follow this plan: Get the attention of the entire 
class; require the eyes to be fixed upon you; pronounce 
once, clearly and distinctly; require the class to pronounce, 
to write the word and to look again at you. Repeat the 
process. Adhere strictly to this rule from the very first in 
all grades, and much time will be saved and all confusion 
avoided. 

(4) In oral spelling, have the pupils pronounce the word 
before spelling, pause after each syllable and pronounce the 
word again at the end. The pause after each syllable marks 
the syllabication equally well and takes far less time than to 
pronounce each syllable by itself. 

(5) When two words having different meanings have the 
same pronunciation, the pupil has a right to be given the 
meaning of the word he is to spell, when the sentence of 
itself does not clearly show the meaning. 

(6) In oral spelling do not pass a word missed by one 
child to others, as that gives the others the advantage of 
the previous attempts. 

(7) Do not give too long lessons. Follow the suggestions 
previously given and review the work again and again. 



166 Public School Methods 

(8) Do not give undue prominence to the long words. 
The very unusualness of their forms helps to fasten their 
images. Words like which, whose, who are often more diffi- 
cult to learn than sunflower or elephant. 

(9) Use constantly such devices as picturing, imaging, 
grouping, definitions and classifications to aid the memory in 
its efforts to retain the correct forms in detail, and bring in 
the needed repetitions by daily reviews. Keep up these 
lines until spelling becomes automatic, 

(10) Do not make a fetich of spelling. It should not 
take the time that properly belongs to other studies. On 
the other hand, it should be kept actively and constantly 
before the classes as a valuable and necessary accompaniment 
to all the other lessons, and good spelling should be dignified 
as an accomplishment of high merit. 

PENMANSHIP 

15. Learning to Read Writing. The daily blackboard 
lessons in reading during the first month or two of a child's 
school life soon give him the power to read written words 
and sentences. This ability, however, does not imply that 
he knows the names of any of the letters used in the lessons ; 
nor does it follow that he can write any of the words that he 
reads with such facility at sight. As a matter of fact, in 
nearly all schools the pupil soon learns the name of some 
of the letters incidently 

A little later the child builds words with written and 
printed alphabets, the teacher quietly giving the names and 
forms of letters when calling attention to mistakes in the 
building, as, "See, Harry, your W is upside down; that 
makes an M of it"; or, "This letter is open at the top; that 
is u. What you need is n, and n is closed at the top. " Carry- 
ing out this plan teaches without loss of time the names of 
the letters, and trains the children to examine forms for minute 
differences. Daily practice gives them certainty as to names, 
helps the power of discrimination and gives excellent prepara- 
tion for the formal lessons in penmanship as a distinct subject. 



Spelling and Penmanship 167 

16. What Penmanship Includes. Writing, at first thought, 
seems a simple thing. In reality, it is most complex. The 
eye must be trained to see forms accurately, discriminating 
to the smallest differences. The spirit of imitation must 
be awakened, and the desire aroused to reproduce the forms 
that the perceptive powers have observed. The will-power 
must be awakened and the desire aroused to reproduce the 
forms that the perceptive powers have observed. The will- 
power must be called into activity to tell the hand what to 
attempt. The muscles of the hand must be trained to 
instant obedience. The habit of comparison must be 
established, in order to notice any dissimilarity between the 
original and the copy. Accuracy must be secured by doing 
the work again after criticism has pointed out the errors. The 
psychological order of a lesson in penmanship is, therefore, 
(i) observation, (2) imitation, (3) criticism and (4) rewrit- 
ing, for greater accuracy. 

17. Sense Training Aids Penmanship. We do not forget 
that penmanship is a science as well as an art, although during 
much of the first year we allow the child to follow it chiefly, 
sometimes wholly, as an imitative art only. All the time, 
however, we train his perspective powers by definite lessons 
in the recognition of forms. We train his power of criticism 
by lessons upon comparative and actual size (lengths and 
widths), and we give daily exercises at the blackboard and 
elsewhere for training in correct movements. Logically, 
then, by all these means, we are preparing the way for the 
later teaching of penmanship as a separate subject, requiring 
a recitation period of its own. 

18. Objects Sought. The objects sought to be secured 
by primary lessons in penmanship are (i) correctness of 
forms, (2) legibility, (3) neatness, the last being rather an 
accompaniment to the other two and in demand from the 
first. Speed comes from practice, after accuracy and legi- 
bility have been secured. 

From the first, however, there must be a reasonable 
degree of speed in writing, since movements that are too 



l68 Public School Methods 

slow result in wavering, uncertain, broken lines. • Penman- 
ship should be smooth and beautiful in its lines, and these 
quahties are seldom, if ever, produced by very slow move- 
ment. 

With primary children, the teacher's rate of counting 
will establish the rapidity of work. Accuracy, legibility and 
neatness are the ends to be kept always in mind. Secure 
these first. Rapidity must come gradually, and from prac- 
tising to a regular, methodical count. 

19. The Teacher's Preparation. The close relation be- 
tween reading, writing and spelling has been noticed, and in 
teaching penmanship in the primary grades the teacher 
must keep this relation in mind. The first lessons in pen- 
manship are imitative on the part of the child. He should 
have good forms to copy, therefore the first requisite in 
the teacher's preparation is that she be a good writer on the 
blackboard as well as on paper, and the former is more essen- 
tial in the first grade. She should be able to make even, 
well-formed letters of large size, and to do this with a good 
degree of facility. 

The second step in her preparation is a knowledge of the 
elements of form which combine to make the various letters 
of the alphabet, and the movements necessary to produce 
these elements. Not that she should present this knowl- 
edge to the pupils, but that she may know what they must 
learn in order to become good writers. 

The third step in the preparation is the formation of a 
definite plan of work. To be sure, the writing for the first 
term, and much of it for the first year, will consist in copying 
words and sentences from the reading and other lessons, but 
this copying should be made a means to an end. Knowing 
what the children need to learn to prepare them for formal 
lessons in penmanship, the teacher should proceed to teach 
these things in connection with the written work which the 
pupils do. The most important of these are position, form 
and freedom of movement, for they constitute the founda- 
tion of good penmanship. 



Spelling and Penmanship 169 

20. Position. " From the start children should be taught 
how to sit at the desk, how to place their arms on the desk, 
how to hold the pen or pencil, and the correct position of the 
paper upon the desk. It is all-important that the pupils 
start right. At best, good writing habits are somewhat 
difficult to establish, and when wrong habits are formed at 
the beginning, it is very difficult to correct them. A right 
start makes writing easier with each succeeding effort, while 
a wrong beginning makes it more and more difficult to abandon 
the old and begin the true. Begin right and the right end 
will be the logical result."* 

21. Form. Form is in the mind. The pupil must have 
a clear conception of the letter or word before he can write it. 
He must not only observe this form, but he must observe 
it l3ng enough and often enough to have an image of it 
impressed upon his mind. For this reason, setting children 
to writing upon the blackboard or on paper the first day 
they enter school is more liable to hinder than to help them 
in learning to write. A word or letter should be observed a 
number of times before the children attempt to write it. It 
is as essential to begin right in the matter of form as in that 
of position. 

Teach perfectly plain, undecorated script. Ornamental 
penmanship has no place in the schoolroom. School train- 
ing is for everyday business use, and the three great requisites 
of school penmanship are legibility, neatness, and, later, 
rapidity. 

Test legibility of writing (i) by covering all words in the 
sentence except one, (2) by covering all the letters of a word 
except one. See if the isolated word or letter is instantly 
named, without a moment for studying its form. 

22. Devices for Teaching Forms. To teach forms of 
letters, the following devices may be used: 

The teacher stands with her back to the class, makes the 
letter very large upon the board, has the children study the 
form a moment and then makes the same letter on a larger 

>C. p. Zaner, editor Busiwss EdiKator. 



170 Public School Methods 

scale in the air. The children imitate the motions. " Writing 
in the air" teaches the pupils to recognize forms from move- 
ment. It is often helpful to use the bottom of an empty 
crayon box and a slate pencil for this purpose. In such an 
exercise the sound of the pencil as it moves across the box 
helps materially to impress the form of the letter, eye and 
ear being united in action. 

We have known adults who could easily read what a 
person was writing by watching the movement of his pen 
as it passed over the paper. This is not a difficult thing to 
do when the script is regular in form and when the pen 
makes enough sound to aid in the reading. From the sound 
alone, an expert may read what is being written when sitting 
opposite the writer, even when blindfolded. These instances 
are cited merely as proofs of the value of the devices suggested. 

After forming the letter in the air, using the index finger 
instead of a pen, the next step is to repeat the air tracing, 
holding the pencil, crayon or pen in position ready for writing. 
The third step is to hold the pen or pencil just above the 
paper and trace again. The fourth and last step is to write 
the letter on the paper in the space assigned. The pupil 
should compare his written letter with the copy, criticise his 
own work and write the same letter again for greater accuracy 
of form. These may seem trivial practices, but they are 
necessary with little children whenever a new letter is given. 

23, Movement. One of the fundamental facts in pen- 
manship is that the correct form will be produced if the 
correct movement is made. This truth must be impressed 
upon the child in every way possible. Many exercises must 
be given to secure correct movement, the teacher counting 
through such drills. Day after day, over and over, just as 
often as a lesson in penmanship is given, this kind of practice 
must be given. The muscles of the arm, wrist and fingers 
must be trained into a habit of moving exactly in obedience 
to a spoken command. 

Counting not only regulates the rate of speed, but estab- 
lish a habit of working under command that leads, finally, 



Spelling and Penmanship 171 

to the muscles yielding obedience to the unspoken, mental 
command given by the pupil's own brain. And this is the 
end for which all the daily exercises in movement are given. 

Cautions, (i) It is ruinous to good writing for the 
teacher to urge pupils to hurry when writing, or to give so 
much written work as to force pupils to hurry in order to 
accomplish the work in the time given. Form is sacrificed 
to speed, and both legibility and beauty are lost. Haste 
invariably creates nervousness, and smooth lines depend upon 
tranquillity of mind and an even pulse. 

(2) What the primary children need is (i) the power to see 
forms with perfect accuracy, (2) training for securing cor- 
rect movements and (3) the power intelligently to follow a 
good copy. 

24. Material. It requires a skilled workman to succeed 
with poor tools. If we wish to secure good results in pen- 
manship in the primary grades, the pupils must be provided 
with suitable material. Until the grade is reached in which 
copy books are introduced, the writing material should be 
provided by the school authorities. This assures uniformity 
of material, as well as a saving of expense. 

(a) Crayon. A good quality of crayon, suitable for the 
blackboard surface, should be selected. If slate boards are 
used, a fine crayon of medium hardness should be chosen; 
if the boards have a rougher surface, a softer crayon is needed. 
The crayon should be broken into short lengths so the chil- 
dren cannot hold it like a pencil ; otherwise, some will write 
on the board with the finger movement. 

(b) Pencils. A good grade of soft pencil should be 
employed. A grade corresponding in hardness to a No. 2 
or a Dixon S. M. is most satisfactory. The pencils should 
be of the largest diameter obtainable. The chubby fist 
of a six-year old is not fashioned to hold a small pencil with 
ease; small pencils tire the children and are a cause of poor 
work. 

(c) Paper. In the first and second grades, unruled 
paper should be used. In the second half of the second 



172 Public School Methods 

year and in the third year, ruled practice paper should be 
introduced, but the ruling should correspond with that in 
the copy books. The paper should be used as freely as 
needed, but it should not be wasted. If the sheets are too 
large, they should be cut to the desired size before distrib- 
uting. The paper should be of good quality for writing with 
a pencil. The surface should be smooth, but not glazed. If 
too rough, neat work cannot be done. 

Caution. If possible, avoid the use of slates. 

(d) Pen and Ink. Ink of good quality, pens with rounded 
points that slide over the paper readily, and penholders as 
large as the pencils, are necessary to good work. In selecting 
pens, avoid stubs, those with fine points and those that are 
elastic. 

Introducing children to the use of ink is a difficult thing 
for teacher and class. In some city schools this is done in 
the first year. It is one difficulty, however, that may and 
should be spared these little ones. To enforce the use of 
ink so early may cause excessive nervousness, and in all 
cases the result is inadequate for the time expended. In 
our judgment, the last term of the second year is early enough, 
even in city schools. For the rural schools, where the year 
is usually much shorter, the beginning of the third year 
is a still better time. By that time most of the mechanics 
of penmanship are mastered and the pupils are old enough 
to have more careful habits. As the use of slate pencils and 
hard lead pencils creates a habit of exerting too great a force, 
the use of pen and ink should rarely, if ever, be postponed 
beyond the time named. Neatness and the child's best work 
should be insisted upon from the first. 

25. Ruling and Rulers. A word concerning the intro- 
duction of ruled paper and of ruling on the blackboard 
may not be out of place. Freedom of movement should be 
sought from the beginning. If the child is bound by ruled 
spaces, it is impossible for him to secure freedom. The 
nervous system is plastic, and the muscles are untrained. 
To ask a child of six to make his letters of just such a height 



Spelling and Penmanship 173 

and width is to impose upon him a wearisome task which he 
will fail to accomplish. Therefore, for several months he 
needs unruled paper. However, when he has become 
accustomed to the use of the crayon and the pencil, and has 
learned the movements used in making the letters, he can 
begin to bring these movements under better control. At 
this stage of the work he is ready for ruled paper. In the 
first paper used the spaces should be wide — not less than 
three-eighths of an inch, and one-half inch is better. 

Rulings on the blackboard should be proportionate to 
those on the paper, and the copy should be written there just 
as the pupil is expected to write it in his practice paper. 
For a time most of the children will write over the lines. 
But this should not discourage the teacher. By practice they 
will soon gain such control over their movements as will 
enable them to keep their writing between the lines. As 
the pupils progress, the spaces should be narrower until the 
ordinary-sized writing is obtained, which should be some time 
in the third year, for most pupils. 

Good lines can be made on the blackboard by soaking 
common crayon in a solution of equal parts of mucilage and 
water. The lines drawn with this crayon will not erase, but 
they can be easily removed by a damp sponge or cloth. For 
this reason they are more convenient than hnes made with 
white paint. The crayon should be sharpened to the desired 
width of the line before soaking. Thin rulers from six to 
ten feet long and two inches wide should be used for ruling 
the blackboard. 

26. Writing on the Blackboard, (a) By the Teacher. 
In Section 19 we have emphasized the importance of the 
teacher being skilful in writing on the blackboard. Here 
we wish to notice the relation of this writing to the work of 
the pupils. By watching the teacher as she writes, the pupils 
see how the different letters are made, where they begin and 
where they end, and which way the hand moves to make 
them. In her illustrative writing the teacher should stand 
so that all the class can see the movement of her hand and 



174 Public School Methods 

arm, and the writing should be large enough to be easily 
read in any part of the room. For first primary children 
the letters should be at least three inches high, and four inches 
is better. 

(b) By the Pupils. The first writing done by the chil- 
dren should be on the blackboard, and the first exercises 
should consist of whole-arm movements, which will famil- 
iarize them with the oval and the straight line. See Exercises 
I and 2, page i8o. 

At first say nothing about size, but ask the pupils to 
make rings as you do, then draw an oval by a sweep of the 
arm. Practice these exercises several times before asking 
the children to attempt words. When words are attempted, 
impress upon the children the importance of making the 
writing large, like yours. 

Large writing on the blackboard by the children calls into action 
the muscles of the shoulder and whole arm. A development of the 
muscles of the shoulder gives strength and skill to the muscles of the 
whole arm. Development of the whole-arm muscles likewise reacts 
upon the forearm muscles and gives them power. Development of 
the forearm muscles gives control of the thumb and finger movements, 
so the large writing on the blackboard gives power, skill and precision 
to the muscles of the forearm, hand and fingers, so necessary to good 
writing.^ 

27. Seat Lessons. The child should not be made to feel 
that writing is something imposed upon him as a task. The 
subject should be so presented that he realizes that learning 
to write is a necessary means to an end. Children like to 
tell what they know, and they like to be able to tell it as 
grown-ups do. When they realize that they must learn to 
write before they can tell those far away what they are doing, 
they attack the work with vigor. 

Before much copying is attempted, drills on the oval and 
the straight line should be given. See Exercises i and 2. 
Here it pays to make haste slowly. We cannot expect to 
make penmen of children in the first grade, but we should 

1 B. D. Berry: Teaching Writing. 



Spelling and Penmanship 175 

attempt to lay the foundation for such practice as will lead 
to this end. This is far more important than that the chil- 
dren become fair copyists. Concerning the evil effects of 
this early desire for a finished product, one of the most suc- 
cessful teachers of penmanship says: 

One stumbling block to progress is the almost insane desire on the 
part of school officials and teachers to show finished formation at once, 
and it requires very little skill to teach pupils to make tremendously 
large script forms with whole arm movement; or to show them how 
to draw accurately with slow finger motion, in cramped positions, 
script forms that are placed before them. On the other hand, it requires 
skill of a high order to teach pupils how to sit, how to relax sufficiently 
and how to hold pens correctly. 

Members of an infant class, as they enter school and begin the 
study of writing, should be taught how to sit; that is the first step. 
They should be taught how to rest their arms on the desks; that is the 
second step. They should be taught how to relax sufficiently to secure 
action from the muscles of their right arms when those arms are resting 
on their desks; that is the third step. They should be taught how to 
hold the pens lightly and easily in their hands, following correct 
physiological principles; that is the fourth step. All this should 
be done before any attempt is made to teach them how to make 
letters.^ 

It is not necessary to give the entire writing period to 
these matters, but before the class begins to write the teacher 
should see that everyone is in correct position and has his 
pencil in the hand as it should be for writing. Their desire 
to reproduce the copy exactly will lead the children soon to 
forget all that has been said about position, and the teacher 
will need to pass among them and quietly correct each faulty 
position as the exercise proceeds. 

Caution. The price of good penmanship is eternal vigi- 
lance. Do not assign first and second grade children written 
work at their seats and then leave them to their own devices 
while you attend to other matters. This practice leads to 
the formation of many bad habits in writing. 

28. Plan of Work. It is better not to require pupils to 
learn rules about position and pen holding. As before said, 

* A. N. Palmer, editor American Penman. 



\1f6 Pvblic School Methods 

teach these by illustration, at first, saying, "This is the way 
the body must be when writing. The feet must both be 
squarely on the floor, like this," In like manner show the 
positions for paper, arms, hands and pen. 

It is not well to say too much in a general way about 
how to hold the pen. Explain that holding the pen tightly 
cramps the fingers so that they soon get too tired to write. 
Show that holding the pen lightly prevents fatigue and gives 
smoother and more rapid writing. Finally, by precept and 
example, teach that the pen should be held with only enough 
firmness to keep it from slipping from the fingers; that the 
fingers must be well back from the point or there will surely 
be inky fingers and blots upon the paper, both of which 
destroy the desired neatness. 

Children must also be trained to keep the side of the 
hand up from the paper, as the hand soils the page and 
makes slow, difficult writing. The same care must be used 
in dipping the pen into the ink, wiping the pen, using the 
blotter, and all the other little niceties necessary to secure 
absolute neatness of page and person. 

Caution. It is often the fault of teachers that children 
seem so very careless or indifferent in these matters. Some 
teachers talk so much that children become nervous and 
over-anxious and from these causes alone do the very things 
they are striving not to do. The directions should always be 
clear and brief and positive. " Do it this way, Mary, and it 
will come right." 

A sharp reprimand brings tears, anger, sullenness, 
indifference. Commending a neat page, good position of the 
body, pen, book or whatever deserves it, arouses the pride 
and ambition of the other children, even when not a word 
is said except to the one child most interested. 

Sometimes it is well to hold up a particularly nice page 
for the class to see. "Some day I hope every boy and girl 
here will do just as well. Henry has tried so hard I 
wanted you all to see how good his work is. " Such remarks 
arouse emulation, but not envy. They stimulate a friendly 



spelling and Penmanship 177 

interest in the work of a classmate without exciting jeal- 
ousy. 

29. Causes of Trouble. A common cause of much trouble 
is the habit many teachers have of saying, for instance, to a 
child or a class, "Watch the vertical lines in this and not 
the horizontal lines. You mustn't even think of the hori- 
zontal lines at all in this lesson." Emphasize only what 
you desire to establish. In the above remarks so much more 
is said about what fwt to do that the child loses sight of 
what he is desired to do. Telling him not to think of the 
horizontal lines, at all, makes it almost impossible for him to 
think of anything else. Thus, many times a day, in the 
average schoolroom, we hear the teacher suggest faults 
to children that otherwise might never have developed. 

Commending Charlie's work that is right suggests to all 
the class that it is worth while to try to do the same thing as 
Charlie did it, because commendation is precious to every 
child. 

30. Patience and Persistence. Penmanship is so necessary 
that it must be taught. To teach penmanship under the 
most favorable conditions is a trying ordeal for any teacher, 
and with the multiplied difficulties of the rural school it 
becomes still more difficult. If teachers could learn to look 
upon obstacles caused by environment as so many challenges 
to their reserve powers, the task would be easier. 

31. Causes of Poor Writing. It sometimes happens that 
children will do well in the penmanship lessons and write 
disgracefully in other exercises. This undesirable condition 
may come from two or three causes. Evidently, the child 
fails to associate penmanship with the writing required in 
connection with other subjects. Often, too, the teacher 
gives more written work than can be done well in the time 
allowed. Again, papers are marked without counting good, 
legible writing and neatness as important factors. 

32. Time for Lesson. Twenty minutes is sufficient time 
to give to a penmanship lesson in primary grades. The time 
should be divided as previously suggested and the lesson 



178 Public School Methods 

followed by one that requires an entire change of position and 
thought. All the pupils of the school should write at the 
same period, to save waste of time and effort. To alternate 
penmanship with drawing secures better work than to have 
both subjects every day. 

The best time for the lesson in penmanship is just before 
recess in the forenoon or the afternoon. On account of 
other subjects, that time may not be the most convenient to 
use. Any time will do, provided the light is good, the 
room free from excitement and the previous lesson has not 
required the same sets of muscles and the same powers of 
thought. 

Caution. It is never well to have the lesson come 
immediately after recess, because the pupils come in from the 
playground excited and full of activity and with the blood 
bounding through their veins. Give a little time for the 
excitement to subside and for the blood to resume its usual 
tranquil flow before beginning the writing lesson. 

33. Uniformity of Handwriting. Absolute uniformity of 
handwriting among pupils is not possible, nor is it desirable. 
In spite of any efforts to make children work as machines 
work, individual character will imprint itself upon the hand- 
writing. In past years, many labored faithfully to secure 
uniform slant from primary children, but the size and shape 
of hands were different, temperaments were different, and, 
in spite of all efforts, the results were different. 

If left entirely to themselves, most children will hold 
slate or paper so as to give no slant to their writing, and 
we believe that for blackboard work, and for other copies 
during the first three years, a writing with little or no slant 
is preferable. As children write more and gain greater 
speed, the natural momentum will change the vertical into 
a slight slant without seriously affecting the legibility of the 
writing. 

34. Exhibition of Penmanship. To encourage effort, 
samples of the writing should be taken once a month. Some- 
times these may be posted on the screen in the room or 



Spelling and Penmanship 170 

hallway, sometimes sent to the superintendent's office to be 
compared with the work of the same grades from other 
schools. Occasionally a sample should be sent home. Being 
able thus to see his progress from month to month is a 
great incentive to earnest effort on the part of individual 
pupils. 

35. How Much to Do. It is impossible to say exactly 
how much a child should do, as the amount depends largely 
upon the time. Books are not needed till the second half 
of the second year, but practice paper should be supplied. 
The usual rule is one book for a term after that time. In 
the early part of the first term, teach the pupil to write, 
from copy, his own name and postoffice address. Days of 
the week and names of months should be added before the 
end of the first year. 

Formal lessons covering the full period need not be given 
to the children of the first grade until the third term is 
reached. Beginners should, however, from the first, take 
the drill exercises for movement with the second and third 
grade pupils. Copying words or sentences, under the super- 
vision of the teacher, may fill their time while the other two 
grades use the copy books. 

36. Drill Exercises and Counting. So much depends upon 
the counting being' done properly when the class is having 
drill exercises for muscle training, that the first drills should 
be given with counts. Sets of movement exercises will be 
found in copy books. For primary grades the teacher may 
copy, from her own books, exercises upon the blackboard 
for the children to imitate on practice paper and black- 
board. 

The following exercises illustrate the practice and counting 
for the most elementary movements. In all cases when the 
class is ready for practice, give the command " Ready. " The 
teacher*s counting should always be as regular as clock 
ticks, and the children should be trained to stop at the exact 
spot and on the instant. This will require great patience 
and much encouragement. 



180 



Public School Methods 




EXERCISB I 



This exercise is very easy. Count o'iie on the down 
stroke. 




EXERCISE 2 



Count one on the down stroke and and on the up stroke- 
as, one and, one and, until the exercise is finished. 




EXERCISE 3 

This is a combination of one and two, and is counted in 
the same way. Begin by saying, "Straight Hnes; one and, 
one and;" change to the oval by saying, "One, change, one, 
one, one, " etc. 



Spelling and Penmanship 



181 



EXERCISE 4 



Begin exactly at the left-hand line and stop exactly at the 
right-hand line. Make no stops between the lines. Give the 
counting thus: "Ready, slide; ready, slide; ready, slide." 




EXERCISE 5 

Begin in the lower left-hand corner of the first square, slide 
to the upper right-hand corner of the fourth square, descend to 
the middle of the fourth square on the count one, slide to the 
upper right-hand corner of the eighth square. There is no 
stopping place until the end of the movement. Give the 
counting thus: "Ready, slide, one, slide; slide, one, slide." 



::-7:"7:"7"-: 




tAziitAz'^i 



EXERCISE 6 



182 



Public School Methods 



This is merely a continuation from left to right of the 
fifth exercise; the hand should not stop on the downward 
stroke. Give the counting thus: "Ready, sHde, one, and, 
two, and, three, and." 




EXERCISE 7 

This is a modification of the fifth exercise, the slants 
being shorter and more abrupt. Give the count thus: 
'* Ready, slide, one, and, two, and, three, and, four, and. " 

In presenting a new exercise, the teacher should have the 
diagram upon the blackboard and illustrate what she desires 
the class to do. 

37. Aids. There are but few books which give direct 
assistance to teachers of penmanship in primary grades. 
The most useful of these are the following: 

Teaching Writing. Part II. B. D. Berry & Co., 378 Wabash Ave., 
Chicago. 

The Arm Movement in Writing. Teachers' Manuals i, 2 and 3. 
C. P. Zaner. Zaner-Bloser Company, Columbus, Ohio. 



TEST QUESTIONS 

1. Upon what senses does the pupil rely in learning to 
spell? Give an outline of one or two lessons that you would 
give second grade pupils for training their senses with a 
view to their direct relation to spelling. 

2. Of the plans suggested under How Much to Spell, 
which do you prefer? Why? Give reasons for your answer. 
How can you so use your exercises in oral spelling as to make 
them helpful in written spelling? 



Spelling and Penmanship 183 

3. How can spelling be taught so as to keep the pupils 
interested and prevent them from feeling that the work is 
drudgery? 

4. Give your method of assigning the spelling lesson to 
pupils in the second and third grades, stating your reasons 
for the different steps. How does visualization in nature 
study and other subjects aid in spelling? Why do pupils 
frequently misspell words when used in sentences that they 
spell correctly in lists ? Does the reverse of this often occur ? 
Why? 

5. Explain your plan for obtaining material for spelling 
lessons in a third grade where no spelling book is used, 

6. Show how reading, language and number lessons assist 
the pupils in learning to write. What lessons in sense- 
training can be given with a view to their direct bearing on 
penmanship ? 

7. Should pupils in the primary grade write a large or a 
small hand? Give reasons for your answer. Should the 
teacher give much attention to slant in the primary grade? 
Why? 

8. What preparation should the teacher make for lessons 
in penmanship in the primary grade? What care must the 
teacher exercise in placing all written work upon the black- 
board? Why? 

9. In the regular lessons in penmanship, which is the 
more valuable, the drill exercises or writing from copy? 
Why? Why is penmanship often neglected in the rural 
schools? 

10. How can you prevent pupils who do good work in 
penmanship from doing poor work in other written exer- 
cises? How can you secure a permanent interest in pen- 
manship on the part of pupils above the third grade? 



LESSON SIXTEEN 

PHYSIOLOGY 

1. The Teacher's Preparation. No other teaching requires 
such thorough preparation as that in primary grades, and 
this maxim cannot be more forcibly apphed to the teaching 
of any subject than to that of human physiology. Health 
and strength at maturity are largely dependent upon the 
early formation of right habits and consequent early growth ; 
therefore, no study can be of more practical value than one 
which clearly points the way to such habits. The teacher 
should have a comprehensive knowledge of the facts and 
principles of anatomy, physiology and hygiene, and she 
should be able to make clear and forceful applications of 
these facts and principles without the use of technical terms ; 
and above all, she should be able to adapt her lessons to 
the capacity of the pupils. The teacher should own one or 
more good physiologies of high school grade, and, if she can 
afford it, a larger work, such as Martin's Human Body 
(unabridged edition) or Retgers's Advanced Physiology. In 
addition to these, she should have two or three of the best 
primary physiologies in current use. The best of these books 
are of great assistance in the selection of material and the 
planning of lessons. 

2. Purpose Outlined. In the primary grades no attempt 
should be made to teach physiology, anatomy or hygiene 
as a science, not only because that would involve the use 
of many difficult terms and the study of intricate and diffi- 
cult laws and relations quite beyond the understanding of 
such young children, but also because lessons of this kind 
usually react unfavorably upon the children. 

Children under ten years of age should not be taught the 
complicated facts of anatomy; and seldom, if ever, should they 
have their attention called to the structure or functions of the 
internal organs before reaching the fourth grade. 
184 



Physiology 185 

It is important that primary teachers keep this fact con- 
stantly in mind in giving lessons on the human body. Dur- 
ing the first three years of school life the mind is keenly 
susceptible to impressions. If led to dwell upon the struc- 
ture and functions of the system, the vague ideas acquired 
are too often extended by a vivid imagination which at this 
period is not subject to the reason, and as a result the child 
becomes morbid and abnormally sensitive. 

In the first three years of school life, however, the pupils 
may easily be taught many helpful and valuable facts per- 
taining directly to the human body and its daily needs. 
Such lessons necessarily will be based upon the elemental 
ideas of hygiene and upon the formation of right habits. 

These primary lessons should be Hmited to the human 
body and made entirely practical, with no attempt to be 
exhaustive in the treatment of any of the sub-topics. The 
general aim should be to teach the pupils to recognize, 
locate and name the principal parts of the body, as head, 
trunk, limbs, and to teach the general laws of health. 

3. Hygienic Results Expected. By no other means, per- 
haps, can the child so readily be taught the importance of 
proper care being given to the body as through the direct 
teaching of hygienic facts and laws. By no other means 
can he so quickly be made to understand that, even in child- 
hood, he must himself be directly responsible for a great 
portion of the care-taking necessary to health. 

At no period in life is one more amenable to reasons that 
can be understood than in early childhood. The question, 
"Why," so sure to follow a statement made to a child, is 
the reaching out of his intelligence after the reason for things. 
A study of the simplest facts about his body and the laws 
that govern its health will give him the reasons for many 
prohibitions which form a marked feature of his daily experi- 
ence. A knowledge of these facts and laws will change these 
prohibitions from arbitrary commands, to which he must 
yield whether he wishes or not, to appeals to his under- 
standing. 



186 Public School Methods 

These elementary lessons should be carefully planned 
and systematically presented, each establishing a definite 
point, tending towards the ultimate aim of the series. The 
lessons must be brief and each new fact must be thoroughly 
taught, leaving no inaccuracies or misconceptions to be 
laboriously unlearned later. 

It may be more difficult to demonstrate the necessity 
for continuous care of the various parts of the body, and 
most difficult of all to create an interest deep enough to 
Induce the pupils of the primary grades to form permanent 
haoits of the right kind in regard to cleanliness, food and 
drink, fresh air, exercise and all else that pertains to hygienic 
living. To this end lessons on foods are very helpful. 

The ends outlined above are not at all impossible, even 
in the rural school remote from the great commercial and 
educational centers. We believe that by means of lessons 
such as suggested many of the illnesses common among 
school children might either be wholly eradicated or lessened 
in frequency and in the severity of their after effects ; also, 
that the knowledge thus gained by the children would 
extend, ultimately, to those homes wherein lurk all disease- 
producing conditions and gradually change such conditions 
into something more sanitary and wholesome. 

There can be no doubt that by the establishment of 
thoroughly hygienic habits of living, the standard of morals 
and manners in any community is raised. This result might, 
and probably would, require a long time to secure, but, once 
secured, it would be lasting. For all these reasons, then, a 
place for the lessons in elementary physiolog}'' should be 
made, even in the first school yeaj-. 

4. Correlation with Other Subjects, (a) Nature Study. 
The lessons upon the human body form an excellent and 
natural introduction to the study of other forms of animal 
life. It is nature study in its highest form, but it may be 
presented first, rather than last, because of its special interest 
and personal value, and because the subject for study is 
always present. 



Physiology 187 

These lessons, simple as they are, prepare the way to 
the understanding of the adaptation of the organs of other 
animals to their peculiar habits, propensities and localities. 
Observation and comparison are constantly appealed to and 
the children learn to see the striking resemblances and differ- 
ences between the habits of life found in man and those of 
the lower animals, and, to some extent, they learn the reasons 
for such habits. 

(b) Reading, Spelling and Language. In the study 
of the human body and its needs, the pupils are constantly 
enlarging their vocabulary, adding new words and phrases 
that enable them at once to express the new knowledge 
gained and also to modify and improve their expression of 
ideas previously obtained. We should therefore make use 
of everything available in literature, art or song that will 
add to the attractiveness or usefulness of the instruction 
in physiology. Thus, in studying food values, the children 
may commit to memory The Corn Song by Whittier. The 
teacher may read or tell the children the story of the fast 
of Hiawatha and the gift of Mondamin. The new things 
learned form the basis of many interesting blackboard read- 
ing lessons and furnish excellent material for spelling lessons. 

(c) Arithmetic. These lessons are easily and naturally 
correlated with the elementary arithmetic work by having 
parts counted, relative and actual size, length, width and 
weight studied, measured and compared. Many interesting 
illustrations for the facts in number and many very simple 
problems may be based upon the work accomplished by 
these first lessons in physiology. 

(d) Elementary Geography. Here again physiology 
may be correlated with one of the fully established subjects 
of the primary grades. This will come most easily and 
naturally when studying the homes of men and the homes 
of lower animals, with the natural and enforced reasons for 
the selections made; also in the third grade, by the study of 
the different articles of food and the sources from which 
they are obtained. 



188 Public School Methods 

(e) Sense-Training. Physiology and sense-training are 
inseparably connected, since the training of the special 
senses would be of small value without a knowledge of the 
sense-organs. The facts relating to location, parts, adapta- 
tion to use, care needed to heighten their value, habits and 
things that are injurious, are all needed to put the training 
of the senses upon an intelligent basis and render the work 
of permanent, practical value. 

5. Method of Procedure. Teach this subject just as you 
teach anything else which you wish to have the pupils per- 
manently retain so that it will influence their lives — for 
instance, just as you teach number and language. In these 
subjects, when the pupils first enter school you call their 
attention to a few facts which they can understand; then 
you fix these facts in mind by repeated drills. Each year 
you add more facts to the same branches to meet the pupils' 
enlarged development as they pass from grade to grade, 
until the truths they have been taught become a part of 
their stock of general knowledge. As time goes on, the 
pupils scarcely remember when or how they learned these 
facts; they seem always to have known and been influenced 
by them. Teach physiology and all that pertains to it in 
the same way, and you will secure the same results. 

Technical terms are not needed during the first three 
years, and should not be introduced until text-books are 
taken up. Whenever names of parts and other terms relat- 
ing to the subject are used, such words should at once be 
written upon the blackboard and kept there for several 
days, if space will permit. 

Before the lesson closes, give a brief drill upon the new 
words used. This drill should be upon pronunciation, recog- 
nition of words as wholes, and upon the spelling of each 
word. In case the blackboard space is limited, transfer the 
words used in these lessons to a chart page where they may 
be kept for building models, copying and other forms of review. 

When any outside illustration is needed to make a par- 
ticular point clear or to impress a truth, decide what this 



Physiology 189 

shall be and get it well in mind. To emphasize the useful- 
ness of the eye we call it "the window of the body." The 
heart is "the great pump of the body that never stops day 
or night as long as life lasts"; "the best kind of feet are 
those like Minnehaha's, that 'run on willing errands' "; 
"the most beautiful faces are the ones that reflect beautiful 
souls in a pleasant, happy expression and good-natured 
smiles"; "the most beautiful hands are those that are always 
finding kind things to do." 

These lessons upon general hygiene may be given in con- 
nection with lessons upon special parts of the body and 
their uses, or they may be given incidentally as fitting oppor- 
tunities occur. They should be based upon analogies and 
should be wholly informal in character. 

6. The Earliest Lessons. There are so many new things 
that the child must become familiar with when he first enters 
school that the teacher should give a generous amount of 
time during the first two weeks to making him acquainted 
with his new environment and its requirements. 

Necessarily, there must be much drill upon the imiform 
movements and the daily routine of the schoolroom. The 
child should be taught how to sit at his desk, how to rise 
easily and noiselessly, how to stand well poised, how to walk 
properly, how to run lightly across the floor and how to 
resume his seat quietly and gracefully. 

There should also be systematic teaching and regular, 
daily drills in the art of breathing properly. Too much 
stress cannot be placed on teaching the child to keep the 
mouth closed and to breathe through the nose in all walk- 
ing and running exercises, at the same time keeping the 
chest well up that the lungs may have room to expand. 
All these exercises are of the highest sanitary and disciplinary 
value. They inculcate health and also teach the idea of 
perfect, instantaneous obedience by training the child's 
muscles to follow the example or word of the teacher and 
the child's will to obey her will in the commands pleasantly 
given. 



190 Public School Methods 

The breathing exercises may be given in connection with 
the reading or spelHng lessons, or as a part of the drill in 
phonics. Being a distinct help to such lessons, they cannot 
be said to encroach upon or waste the time properly belong- 
ing to the regular work as outlined by the program. They 
should always be brief, never taking more than one or two 
minutes of time. 

The drills in schoolroom movements, for securing muscle- 
training and concerted, rhythmic action on the part of the 
class, should also be given without using time needed for 
regular recitations. To prevent encroachments, use for this 
work the five-minute periods designated on the program for 
rest, recreation, physical exercises or indoor recesses. 

After the first two weeks of such training and drill, the 
children should be so familiar with the routine movements 
that daily work of this kind will not be necessary. When 
lapses of memory become frequent, correct the habit by a 
rapid review, being insistent upon accuracy and prompt- 
ness. 

After hygienic habits have become established by means 
of the foregoing methods, the pupils are ready to begin 
upon more formal lessons, although the manner of present- 
ing them will remain informal. For the convenience of the 
teacher, the lessons are arranged in groups. 

This does not imply that all the material included in one 
group is to be completed before the child may be given 
anything from another group. The grouping, as before said, 
is for the convenience of the teacher and practically covers 
under each topic everything that should be attempted dur- 
ing the first three years of school. 

How much of one group of lessons to give before begin- 
ning upon another must be determined by the judgment of 
the teacher. She will see what is most needed and what 
her pupils are able to assimilate and put into practical use. 
Incidentally, in connection with every part of the day's 
work or play, there will be opportunities for emphasizing 
some hygienic truth or need. These opportiinities are golden 



Physiology 191 

when made use of naturally, gently, tactfully and in the 
spirit of kindness. 

7. Parts of the Body, (a) Main Divisions of the Body, 
Head; trunk; limbs: upper (2), lower (2). 

(b) Location of Main Divisions. The head is the 
highest or topmost part of the body. The trunk is the middle 
portion of the body. The neck joins the head to the trunk. 
The limbs are four in number, two upper limbs, called arms, 
and two lower limbs, called legs. The arms, or upper limbs, 
are joined to the upper portion of the trunk, one on each 
side. The legs, or lower limbs, are joined to the lower por- 
tion of the trunk, one on each side. 

8. Illustrative Lesson. Stand a Httle boy in a low chair 
before the class. Pass your hands over his head, asking, 
"What am I touching, Nora?" 

"Frank's head." 

"And now, Harry?" 

"Frank's arms." 

"The arms are joined to what part of the body, Charlie?" 

"The upper part." 

"What are these, Nelson?" 

"Frank's legs." 

"The legs are joined to what part of the body, Minnie?" 

"The lower part." 

"And what is all this large middle part of the body 
called, WilHam?" 

It is doubtful if any child will give the name trunk. In 
that case ask, " How many can think just how a tree looks?" 
"What is the strong middle part of a tree called?" 

"The trunk." 

"And what grow out from the trunk of the tree?" 

"Branches." 

"What other name is there for the branches of a 
tree?" 

"The limbs." 

"Then the main parts of a tree are called what?" 

"The trunk and limbs." 



192 Public School Methods 

"Well, the strong, middle part of the body has the same 
name as the strong, middle part of the tree. Who can give 
the name now?" 

"Trunk." 

"Since we call this part (touching) the trunk of the 
body, if we still think about the tree, what may we call 
these (touching arms and legs) because they grow out from 
the trunk?" 

"The limbs." 

"And these limbs grow out from what part of the body 
(touching arms)?" 

"The upper." 

"So they may be called what limbs?" 

"The upper limbs." 

Use the same plan to get the statement that the legs 
are the lower limbs of the body. Review rapidly by touch- 
ing the parts, having the children name them in concert. 
Write the first outline upon the board. Review again by 
saying, "Fred may find his head." "John, lift your arms." 
"Harry, touch' your legs." "Mary, show the trunk of your 
body," getting the correct statement, as, "This is my head," 
"This is my trunk," etc. 

All the lesson must be given very rapidly and the interest 
kept alert by skilful distribution of questions and work. 
Ten minutes will be ample for such a lesson, and should 
bring every child actively into the recitation several times. 

Use a similar method for each of the succeeding lessons 
of the course. Choose illustrations, objective and literary, 
with the utmost care. When the above lesson is again 
reviewed, explain that there is another reason for the name 
trunk of the body, that it holds most precious things inside 
of it. 

9. Parts of the Head. Top; hair; front or face: fore- 
head, temples, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth, chin; sides; ears; 
back; skull. 

Location of Parts of the Head. The top of the head 
is the highest part of the head and is called the crown. The 



Physiology 193 

hair is for both protection and beauty. It covers the crown 
and back parts of the head and partly covers the sides of 
the head. 

The front of the head is the face and consists of the fore- 
head, temples, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth and chin. The 
forehead is the upper part of the face, lying just above the 
eyes. The temples are two in number, forming the right 
and left sides of the forehead. 

The eyes are two in number and are set directly below 
the forehead, a little to the right and to the left sides. The 
cheeks are two in number and occupy most of the right and 
left sides of the face. They cover the bony structure and 
add beauty to the shape of the face. 

There is but one nose to each face. It lies below the 
forehead, between the eyes and between the cheeks. There 
is one mouth. It lies between the nose and the chin. The 
chin is the lowest portion of the face. 

There are two sides to the head, the right side and the 
left side. These lie between the front of the head (or face) 
and the back. The ears are two in number, one joined to 
the right side and one joined to the left side of the head. 
The hack of the head is all that part of the head not filled 
by the top, front and sides. 

The skull is the bony part of the head that gives shape 
to all the rest. It is hollow and made of parts carefully 
joined together. We cannot see the skull, but can feel it. 
The skull protects all parts of the head to some extent, but 
especially guards the brain. The brain is a very delicate 
organ of the body, located in the hollow of the skull. It is 
by means of the brain that we are able to do our thinking, 

10. The Eyes, (a) Parts that Protect the Eyes. 
Sockets; brows; lids; lashes. 

(b) The Location of Protective Parts of the Eye. 
The socket is the hollow or bony framework in which the 
eye is placed. It protects the eye from injuries that might 
come from blows, collisions or other accidents. There are 
two sockets, one for each eye. 



194 Public School Methods 

The brows are directly above the eyes. They are fur- 
nished with short, silky hair. The eyebrows add beauty to 
the face and protect the eyes by catching drops of perspira- 
tion, fine particles of dust and other minute substances that 
otherwise might fall into them and cause them to become 
inflamed and swollen. 

The eyelids are four in number, two for each eye. Thev 
are called the upper and lower lids. These serve as cur- 
tains and help to regulate the amount of light admitted to 
the eye. They also protect the eye from sudden danger 
by dropping quickly over it in time of need. 

The eyelashes are short, fine hairs attached to the edge 
of the eyelids. They turn upward on the upper lid and 
downward on the lower lid. They keep the edges of the 
eyelids from rubbing together and thus prevent soreness. 
They also guard the eye from dust, small insects and othei 
things harmful to it. 

(c) Visible Parts of the Eye. The visible parts of the 
eye are the eyeball, the iris and the pupil. 

(d) Location of Parts of the Eye. The eyeball is the 
ball-shaped portion of the eye. It is white, smooth and 
ghstening and rests easily in the socket, held in place by 
muscles created for that especial duty. Children call the 
eyeball "the white of the eye." 

The iris is the colored part of the eye. It i§ not always 
of the same color. When it is blue, we say the person has 
blue eyes. When the iris is gray, we say that person has 
gray eyes. And so for brown, hazel and black, the eyes in 
every case being named according to the color of the iris. 

The pupil is in the center of the front part of the eye- 
ball. It is an opening in the iris that admits light to the 
eye. It always looks black, because of what lies back oi 
it inside the eye. The pupil is frequently called " the window 
of the eye," because it lets the light in. 

(e) Care op the Eye. Notwithstanding all the pro- 
tective organs with which the eye is guarded, if a tiny cinder, 
particle of dust or some other irritating object gets into the 



Physiology 195 

eye, it creates great pain and serious inflammation. In such 
cases the eye should never be rubbed, since that increases 
the trouble. Draw the upper lid out and as far down over 
the lower as possible and hold it there steadily. Tears will 
speedily form and, in most cases, will succeed in washing 
out the offending particle, after which the inflammation 
will subside. 

It is because the eye is the organ of sight, and because 
without sight we could do little for our own comfort and 
pleasure or anjrthing for others, because the eye is the most 
delicate of all the organs of the body, except, perhaps, the 
brain, and is so easily injured beyond hope of recovery, 
that all these natural protections have been given to the 
marvelous organ. The slightest irritation will cause intense 
pain, and it takes but a sHght injury to the eye to destroy 
the sense of sight. Staring at the sun, staring into another's 
eyes at close range, reading or working in a dim or fading 
hght, or with the sun shining strongly upon the work or 
reflected into the eye, "looking cross-eyed," holding a book 
too close to the eyes, and many other very common practices 
among children and thoughtless people, strain the eyes, 
weaken their power and, in time, permanently impair the 
vision. 

Caution. Teachers should watch young pupils carefully 
and take steps at once to eradicate any of the faults enu- 
merated above. They should also quietly and informally test 
the eyesight of the children and see that those whose eyes 
are weak, or near-sighted, are seated nearest the blackboard, 
to prevent eye strain and error in work. All writing, draw- 
ing, figures and work of any sort upon blackboard or charts 
should be large, clear and distinct. 

It is not always possible or convenient to test the eyes 
of pupils in the first grade by the means of cards used by 
oculists. A very practical and convenient method is to 
place the pupil in the back part of the room, then draw a 
small square or circle on the blackboard; make the figure 
about two inches in diameter. Ask the child to look at 



106 Public School Methods 

the figure, then erase it and ask the child to draw one like 
it. If he cannot do this, it is quite evident that he did not 
see the figure clearly. 

11. The Nose, (a) The Parts of the Nose. Bridge; 
sides; nostrils. 

(b) Location of Parts of the Nose. The bridge is 
the center part of the nose, the firmest part. The shape 
of the nose is mainly determined by the shape of the bridge. 
The sides are the parts reaching from the bridge to the cheeks. 
The nostrils are two in number, one on each side of the 
bridge. These are openings to admit air in breathing and 
to give access to the nerves of smell. The walls of the nostrils 
are thin, flexible and delicate when of the best type for beauty 
and use. 

For protection against particles of dust and other things, 
the nostrils are lined with short hairs which prevent these 
things from being inhaled with the breath. 

The nose is the organ of smell and also the proper organ 
through which to take in air for the lungs. When the air 
is taken through the nostrils, as should be the case, it becomes 
slightly warmed while passing through the nose and fills 
the lungs without irritating them. 

(c) Care of the Nose. In order that the sense of smell 
may remain keen and delicate and that breathing may be 
easy, the nostrils must be kept perfectly clean and free from 
obstructions of every sort. 

12. The Mouth, (a) Parts of the Mouth. Lips; teeth; 
tongue; roof; palate. 

(b) Location of Parts of the Mouth. The lips are 
two in number, called the upper and the lower lip. They 
form the doors to the mouth, and, when closed, the mouth 
is closed. 

In the mouth the food is prepared for the stomach by 
being properly chewed. Before it can be swallowed safely 
it must be chewed to a pulp and well moistened with saliva. 

There are thirty-two teeth in a full set, four of these being 
cut after childhood and early youth are passed. These 



Physiology 19'/ 

four are called "wisdom teeth" and are never found in a 
child's mouth. ^ The teeth have roots to hold them firmly 
in the jaw, and a hard, white coating, called enamel, to 
protect them from the air, heat, cold, etc. In the interior 
of each tooth are little nerves that are so sensitive that when 
the air touches them it causes toothache. 

Very hot, very cold, very hard, very sour and very sweet 
things are liable to injure the enamel, hence must be used 
carefully. Never crack nuts or bite hard substances with 
the teeth. Particles of food left in the mouth are liable to 
cause the teeth to decay and render the breath foul; there- 
fore, the teeth must be kept clean. Use a moderately stiff 
brush and clear water, brushing the teeth after each meal 
to remove all particles of food from between or aroimd them. 

The tongue is so attached that it can move freely and 
with great ease and flexibility. It is the chief organ of 
speech and the chief organ of the sense of taste. The sense 
of taste will be injured if food or drink excessively hot or 
excessively cold is used too freely. The sense of taste is 
in all parts of the mouth to some extent, but chiefly located 
in the tip of the tongue and in the palate. The roof is the 
upper part of the mouth; the palate is the soft conical 
body projecting downward at the back of the mouth. 

The one who wishes fully to enjoy the taste of what he 
eats or drinks, eats slowly, daintily, in small mouthfuls and 
not overmuch at a time. The glutton soon destroys all the 
delicacy of his sense of taste, and therefore he loses the 
highest enjoyment that food can give. His sense of taste 
then ceases to warn him of the danger in unwholesome food. 

13. The Ears, (a) Parts of the Ear. Outer rim; 
lobe; drum. 

(b) Location of Parts. The rim is the edge of the 
outer ear. It assists in hearing, protects the opening from 
dust and other dangers and adds to the good looks of the face. 

• 1 At the time these early lessons are given, it may be that few children of the class 
will be found with the same number of teeth, this being the age in which most chil- 
dren are losing their first teeth and getting new ones. 



198 Public School Methods 

The lobe is the lower end of the rim of the ear, more or 
less free from the head. It is sometimes so closely attached 
that it ceases to have any distinct form. Ptdling the lobe 
of the ear gives intense pain and often causes harm beyond 
repair, therefore must never be done, even in sport. 

The drum forms the partition between the outer and the 
inner parts of the ear. It transmits the sounds for the nerves 
of hearing. The drum is thin and delicate and easily broken. 
If, by accident or disease, the drum is broken, the sense of 
hearing is lost, and the person is then hopelessly deaf. 

(c) Care of the Ear. There is a waxy substance that 
nature has given the ear for its protection. This is com- 
monly called the ear-wax, is yellow in color and very bitter 
to the taste. It serves to keep the drum from getting so 
dry as to crack, and keeps out insects. It is a mistake to 
remove every particle of this wax, although it should not 
be allowed to accumulate and harden, as that sometimes 
causes deafness. The sense of hearing is also destroyed if 
the drum be pimctured with a pin or some other sharp- 
pointed object. 

The ear is supplied with a group of small, delicate bones 
that assist in hearing. These bones are in the middle ear 
and cannot be seen. They are so small and so easily dis- 
placed that even a slight blow should never be given to 
the ear, much less a heavy one. "Boxing" the ears is dan- 
gerous in the extreme. 

Sharp, sudden and very loud noises and continued blow- 
ing in the ears are also very harmful and every care should 
be taken in guarding against them. Things done "just for 
fim" have frequently resulted in lifelong injury to the ear. 

The ears must be kept clean or the sense of hearing will 
be less acute. The way to clean them is by washing care- 
fully with a soft cloth, using water not extremely hot nor 
extremely cold. 

After cleansing, the ear should be carefully dried and 
then lightly and quickly rubbed in front and behind (one 
finger back of it and one in front) for a little time to quicken 



Physiology 199 

the circulation and keep the nerves of hearing in an active 
condition. The ear should never be carelessly filled with 
soapy water nor should water be left inside, 

14. The Finger Nails. The finger nails grow from beneath 
the skin not far from the ends of the back part of the fingers. 
The nails are without feeling, are thin, homy and transparent 
enough to show the blood beneath them. 

The mission of the nails is to give more firmness and 
strength to the finger ends and to protect them from injuries. 
The ends of the fingers are supplied with numerous fine 
nerves which would often be injured and the sense of touch 
seriously impaired were it not for protection of the nails. 

Neglecting to care for the nails properly is a very com- 
mon habit, especially among school children and people who 
have many cares and duties crowding upon them. 

This neglect causes untidiness, "hang-skins," "hang- 
nails," white blotches upon the nails and other unsightly 
results. All these things may be prevented by early train- 
ing and a little thoughtful care. 

The nails grow rapidly and need to be carefully filed off 
or trimmed as often as once a week, following the shape of 
the finger tip, to keep them in good form. They should 
never be "cut to the quick," but allowed to grow out even 
with the ends of the fingers in order to render the service 
designed. They should always be kept scrupulously clean, 
but no sharp instrument should be inserted beneath. A nail 
brush of medium hardness should be used when the hands 
are washed, and afterwards a proper nail cleaner may be 
used, if necessary. 

When drying the hands, always rub around the nails, 
carefully pushing back the skin at the roots to prevent its 
encroaching upon and covering the " half -moon " that should 
show there, . 

These instructions, carefully followed, will prevent " hang- 
skins," "hang-nails" and soreness and give a wholesome 
and shapely appearance to the finger ends. When the 
nails seem too brittle and inclined to break or tear, a little 



200 Public School Methods 

vaseline nibbed into them at night will materially reduce 
the trouble. 

Nervous children often fall into the habit of biting the 
nails, causing much soreness and destroying the shapeliness 
of the finger ends. This habit also deadens, and in some 
cases destroys, the sense of touch in the finger tips. 

It is not difficult to convince any one, young or old, that 
biting the nails is for all these reasons a very undesirable 
habit. Nevertheless, it is a habit difficult to cure. One of 
the best remedies is to stimulate the child's - pride and 
encourage his effort by praising the improved appearance 
of the finger nails under the new regime. Never cease the 
encouragement till the bad habit has been crowded out 
and replaced by the proper care of the hands and nails. 

In these lines, as in others relating to the care of the 
body, the teacher's example and sympathetic advice may 
result in lifelong good to her pupils, improving their personal 
appearance and removing many discomforts that grow out 
of ignorance and neglect. 

When pupils have chapped hands, offer suggestions as 
to care, and some simple remedies, using a fitting time for 
the advice. Careless washing, strong soaps, imperfect dry- 
ing and going out into the cold before the hands are entirely 
dry are the most common causes of chapped hands. Point 
out the causes first, then suggest the practice of washing 
the hands carefully, just before retiring each night. Dry 
the hands perfectly and thoroughly rub in a little mutton 
tallow, cold cream, or a lotion made of four parts of rose 
water to one of glycerine. 

Caution. When giving lessons upon the hands, be sure 
that cleanliness is emphasized and encouraged by all proper 
means, example and precept united, but that no sarcasm 
is employed nor any person put to open shame. 

15. The Skin. The skin is a tight, soft-fitting cover to 
the body. It consists of two parts. The outer layer is thin, 
without blood vessels, and in itself has little or no feeling. 
The inner layer of skin is full of small blood vessels, is very 



Physiology 201 

delicate and very sensitive. The slightest scratch upon it 
causes pain. 

When both skins are cut through, nature heals the hurt, 
but there is apt to be a scar. Illustrate this by showing a 
scar from a cut or bum, and by showing a garment that 
has been torn and mended. 

The skin is a delicate, beautiful covering to the body; it 
gives off waste particles of matter through its thousands 
of pores, largely supplies the body with air needed for life, 
protects the flesh and blood under it against cold, and when 
entirely whole, clean and healthy, protects against infection, 
even when handling poisonous substances. 

A good magnifying glass can be used to enable the class 
to understand the nature of the pores and to get some idea 
of their great number. Emphasize the need of keeping the 
skin perfectly clean in order that it may perform the duties 
intended. The pores must be kept open (clean) by bathing 
and brisk rubbing, or the air cannot enter, nor the waste, 
poisonous particles be carried off by the perspiration. 

Explain, further, that without perfect cleanliness the 
body will give off a very disagreeable, offensive odor, that 
it will become unhealthy and liable to pimples, blotches, etc. 

The skin needs plenty of fresh air and frequent exercise 
out of doors to keep it fresh and healthy. When a person 
stays too much indoors in over-heated rooms, the skin 
becomes dry and sallow. 

The appearance of the skin covering the face is called 
one's complexion. To have a clear, fresh, beautiful com- 
plexion there must be entire cleanliness, plenty of fresh 
air, proper clothing (warm enough, but light in weight and 
loosely fitted), plenty of regular sleep and exercise, with 
simple, wholesome food and drink. 

The following groups of lessons are suitable for third 
grade work, and should be extended by the addition of 
lessons on food and proper habits of eating and drinking. 

16. Parts of the Neck and Trunk, (a) Parts of thb 
Neck, Throat; windpipe; back. 



202 Public School Methods 

(b) Parts of the Trunk. Shoulders; breast; stomach; 
back; abdomen; hips. 

Pupils locate, name and learn the uses of the above parts. 
This work will be general in character, since the details of 
this part of physiology must be left until higher grades are 
reached and pupils are better able to comprehend the diffi- 
cult processes of digestion, blood circulation, blood purifica- 
tion and the like. 

Dwell upon the work of the visible parts and do not try 
to make these lessons exhaustive. 

17. The Limbs, (a) Parts of Upper Limbs, or Arms. 
Main arm; forearm; wrist; hand. 

(b) Parts of the Hand. Fingers, five, including thumb; 
finger nails; palm; back. 

(c) Names of the Fingers. Thumb; index finger; middle 
finger; ring finger; little finger. 

(d) Parts of the Foot. Instep; toes; sole; ball; heel. 
After teaching the location and name of each of the 

above parts, the most obvious uses may be taught; as, 
"The arms, wrists, hands and fingers enable us to reach, 
take up, hold and carry things, both large and small, if 
not too heavy for us to lift." "The legs, feet and toes enable 
us to walk, run, etc." 

After these general uses are taught, it will be better to 
leave this group of lessons until after one or two lessons 
upon the joints. 

18. The Joints, (a) Joints of Upper Limbs, or Arms. 
Shoulders; elbows; wrists; knuckles; finger-joints. 

(b) Joints of Lower Limbs, or Legs. Hips; knees; 
ankles; toe-joints. 

Teach location, name, number and use of each of the 
joints and care needed. 

(c) Plan. The joints may best be explained to httle 
children as hinges. Sometimes they connect smaller parts 
to larger parts, sometimes two parts of about the same 
size. Be sure to bring out the fact that there could be no 
bending without the joints, and that their specific work is 



Physiology 203 

to join parts of the body in such a way as to enable the body 
to bend in different directions and to take different posi- 
tions. The structure and working of the joint will be made 
much clearer if the bones of a chicken leg can be used as an 
illustration. If the bones are not at hand, draw upon the 
board, or on manila paper, an illustration from some physi- 
ology. Make the drawing large enough for use with the 
entire class. 

Emphasize the value and usefulness of joints by having 
the children try to do various things without bending the 
knees and elbows. 

When the children have learned all that is at this time 
necessary concerning the joints and can readily locate and 
name each without assistance, the parts of the limbs may 
be reviewed, general uses recalled, and several lessons given 
to teach the more intricate uses of the hands and feet, and 
the special adaptation of the parts of each to their specific 
duties. 

19. Hand and Foot. There should also be one lesson 
upon the marked difference between the hand and foot, 
as to location, size, shape, use, and adaptation to use. The 
facts to be included in this lesson are as follows: The hand 
is a part of the upper half of the body, placed at the end of 
the arm and in a line with it. It seems to be an extension 
of the arm, so to speak. The hand is thin and its palm may 
be bent to form a cup-like hollow, so as to hold things better. 
The palm ends in a row of four long, flexible fingers. The 
thumb is so arranged that it can be brought opposite any 
one of the four fingers, making it an easy matter to touch, 
pick up, grasp and hold any object not too large or too heavy. 

The sense of touch is found in all parts of the body, but 
is very highly developed in the tips of the fingers, making 
it possible for us to pick up, adjust and work with the most 
delicate materials, and to use tools of fine quality and 
small size. 

Compared with the hand, the foot is thick and stiff. 
The instep is arched, to give strength and flexibility ia 



204 Public School Methods 

walking. The ball of the foot is broad and fiat, to give 
firmer support to the body in standing or walking. The 
five toes are arranged in one row and are shorter than the 
fingers and give far less aid to the sense of touch. The joints 
in the toes give an ease and elasticity to walking, ninning, 
jumping and other necessary movements. 

Caution. Keep in mind that the purpose of these lessons 
will be lost if the teaching does not fill the child with a deep 
sense of gratitude for the wonderful house he has been given 
for his mind and soul to dwell in, and impress him with his 
responsibility for its proper care. 

20. The Bones. A house built without a good, strong 
framework of sills, studding and rafters would soon fall. 
The bones form the framework of the body, as the timbers 
that are put up in building a house form its frame. 

The long framework of our body is covered with muscles 
that move it about. This framework is made up of many 
bones, closely joined and fitted together. These bones 
make the body firm and strong and give it its shape. 

(a) Plan. Ask the class to find the bones of the arm, 
the forearm, hand and fingers. Call attention to the bones 
of the lower extremities and notice why they are larger 
than those of the arms. Proceed to the bones of the head 
and trunk. There will probably be enough physiologies in 
the school so that the pupils can have the use of a diagram 
of the skeleton. The structure of the bones can be seen by 
examining a beef bone. It is well to let the pupils examine 
it both before and after cooking, so that they can see what 
has been extracted by heat. 

The names of the bones should be learned at this time. 

(b) Bones of the Head. Face, fourteen, besides teeth; 
skull, eight; ear, three. 

(c) Bones of the Trunk. Spine and twenty-four ribs; 
breast-bone; collar-bone; pelvis, four. 

(d) Bones of Arm and Hand. Upper arm, one; fore- 
arm, two; wrist, eight; hand, five; fingers, fourteen; twenty- 
eight in all, 



Physiology 205 

(e) Bones of Leg and Foot. Hip, one; thigh, one; 
below knee, two; knee-cap, one; ankle, seven; foot, five; 
toes, fourteen; thirty-one in all. 

The above are all the bones of the body that are prac- 
ticable to teach at this time, and all that can be accurately 
located without a skeleton. 

Lessons on muscles may profitably follow those on bones. 

21. The Blood. In the first lessons on the blood it can 
be compared to the juices of plants and the sap in trees. 
Teach its use in nourishing the body and carrying off waste 
tissue. Show that pure blood is essential to health and 
that this condition depends upon cleanliness, fresh air, 
exercise, proper food and drink, a necessary amount of sleep 
and proper clothing. The older pupils should study the 
veins, arteries, heart and circulation. Name and locate 
arteries, veins and capillaries, teaching the general difference 
in their functions, but avoid the use of technical terms. 

It will be well to teach how to recognize when a vein or 
an artery is severed and what to do in such cases, pending 
the. arrival of the nearest physician. 

Lessons on the blood should be followed by those on 
respiration. 

22. Waste and Repair. A series of very interesting and 
very valuable lessons may be given upon what agencies 
tend to create fatigue, wear and waste in the body and what 
agencies restore and rebuild it. 

The body is like a great, busy workshop, where many 
kinds of labor are going on all the time, day and night, as 
long as life lasts. The machinery of this wonderful work- 
shop is of many kinds and each part performs a curious and 
complex duty. All are necessary to the complete working, 
and perfect health is maintained only when each part per- 
forms its functions. 

(a) Agencies that Wear and Waste. Breathing; 
growing; working; nrnning; walking; overeating; very high 
heels; unwholesome food; tobacco; alcoholic drinks; lack of 
sleep; lack of exercise; lack of ventilation; tight clothing; 



206 Public School Methods 

disease; evil thoughts, envy, hate, jealousy, spite, greed; 
worry; uncleanliness. 

(b) Agencies that Repair and Rebuild. Fresh air; 
sleep; wholesome food; pure water; pure milk; regularity of 
living; outdoor exercise; serenity; contentment; congenial 
work; kind thoughts; cleanliness; noble ambitions; high ideals. 

23. Correlated Literature. Through the teaching of 
appropriate songs, maxims, poems and proverbs in connec- 
tion with the lessons upon the human body, the vital truths 
of the latter will be more deeply impressed and much longer 
remembered than otherwise. 

To illustrate. With the lessons upon the mouth, teach, 
" Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking 
guile." Read the fairy story, Diamonds and Toads, telling 
of the little girl who opened her lips only to let venomous 
things come out. Teach, "Speech is silver, but silence is 
golden," and — 

"If you your lips 
Would keep from slips. 
Five things observe with care : 
Of whom you speak. 
To whomi you speak, 
And how and when and where." 

With the lessons upon the hands, teach the poem, Beautiful 
Hands; the action song, Raise Your Hands if They are 
Clean; the game. Washing Hands; the proverb, "Cleanliness 
is next to godliness"; the command, "Whatsoever thy hand 
findeth to do, do it with thy might," and Psalms xxiv, 3 and 4. 
The above are sufficient to illustrate what is meant by 
the term "correlated literature," but words can scarcely 
express the value of such teaching given in the impression- 
able years of early childhood. A teacher possessing the 
mother heart will realize the need of such teaching and be 
diligent to find ways of accomplishing it. 

24. Temperance Physiology. That there is need of 
giving lessons in temperance to all children requires no 
argument. It is self-evident. Unhappily, abundant proof 



physiology 207^ 

of the evil results of intemperance is on every side, not even 
the country districts being exempt. 

The need of temperance lessons is so apparent that all 
states but one have enacted positive laws requiring such 
teaching in all the schools of the state. It is unfortunate 
that those laws usually specify "alcohol and tobacco," but 
omit opium, cocaine, absinthe, profanity, obscenity, impurity, 
gluttony, luxurious and idle habits and many other things 
that militate so strongly against temperate living in its 
highest and best sense. 

It is sad, but true, that temperance teaching measured 
by results has been almost a total failure in most schools. 
Even in schools where the evil effects of alcohol and tobacco 
have been demonstrated by every scientific experiment that 
could be used in the schoolroom, the result has not been 
satisfactory. The teachers have done their duty as they 
understood it and carried out the state law to the best of 
their ability. These failures are due largely to a failure in 
appreciating when, where and how temperance teaching 
should begin and to a lack of knowledge of the real founda- 
tions of this work. 

No teaching of temperance physiolpgy that is based only 
on "scientific temperance" has ever produced entirely 
satisfactory results. 

The teaching of temperance requires the greatest tact in 
order to secure the most desirable results. Children imitate 
those they love and in whom they have confidence. Your 
own personal attitude against the use of alcoholic drinks 
(including beers), and against the use of tobacco, is per- 
haps the most potent factor in temperance instruction. As 
a rule, it is better to emphasize what to do than what not 
to do. Children are more benefited by positive than by 
negative instruction. Lay more and more stress upon the 
joy of possessing a body strong in limb, rich in clean blood, 
steady in nerve and clear in brain, needing no stimulant 
other than pure air, wholesome food, regular exercise and 
invigorating sunshine. 



208 Public School Methods 

Briefly stated, this teaching, to be truly successful, must 
rest upon a foundation composed of high ideals, self-control, 
self-respect and a genuine love of what is right, clean and 
pure in life, both private and public. Cement these elements 
solidly together in the character of a child and we shall have 
a foundation that will be able to resist the assaults of all 
temptations. 

The work should begin in the home when the child is an 
infant, with mother, father, brothers and sisters to teach by 
precept, and more by example, habits of absolute obedience, 
regularity in eating, drinking, sleeping — thus laying the 
foundations of self-control and the recognition of proper 
authority. In the home, too, the child should learn lessons 
of abstinence in speech, in eating and in drinking, and should 
never form the habits of vulgarity, gormandizing and glut- 
tony, or intemperance in any respect. 

From the day the child enters the primary school until 
he leaves school forever, the teachers should see to it that 
the will power is strengthened, not broken ; that self respect 
is fostered by every means possible; that right conduct is 
kept ever uppermost; that worthy motives and ambitions 
are implanted through examples chosen from life, from 
biography and from history, by means of fables, anecdotes, 
maxims, proverbs and poems. 

This work forms the strong, sure substratum upon which 
"scientific temperance teaching" will rest securely and per- 
manently. It is most successful when the teacher works 
persistently, patiently and skilfully, letting the pupils learn 
her purpose inferentially. Loud and frequent declarations 
of intention nearly always destroy success in advance. 

There is little or no place in the primary grades for direct 
"scientific temperance teaching," since that requires explana- 
tions, reasons and demonstrations beyond the full compre- 
hension of the classes. When such work is attempted too 
soon, children are liable to misapprehend and carry home 
such garbled versions of what the teacher does and says 
that antagonism is aroused and defeat follows. 



Physiology ^09 

It is better to leave these formal lessons in temperance 
until pupils are older. In the primary grades keep character 
building and will training always in mind and make use 
of every opportunity, in school and out, to strengthen these 
as a defense against temptations of all kinds. 

When intoxicated people are seen, or when men appear 
with cigarets, cigars or pipes; when one is seen crazed by 
cocaine or stupefied with opium, the children have recog- 
nized the illustration, and a few words then and there, if 
fitly spoken, will have deep and lasting effect for good. 

Impressions sink deeply into childish hearts. A boy's 
will may, indeed, be the wind's will, but "the thoughts of 
youth are long, long thoughts." Therefore, use no words 
of sarcasm, ridicule or contempt, neither permit them to be 
used, when intemperance of any kind is seen. Lower the 
voice, speak words of pity and words of deep, sincere regret, 
and show how much more such persons would be respected if 
these things were not. Speak gently, and do not say too 
much. 



TEST QUESTIONS 

1. Why are lessons on hygiene needed in the first grade? 

2. Why does the teacher need a thorough preparation 
for teaching physiology in the primary grades? What can 
the teacher do by herself to obtain this preparation? 

3. Would you give the same lessons to the primary grades 
in a rural school and to a city primary school? If not, wherein 
should they differ, and why? 

4. Show how children's play is beneficial to their state 
of health, 

5. In what respects should lessons given pupils in the 
third grade differ from those given in first and second grades ? 
Outline a lesson on the joints of the arm and hand, such as 
you would give a third grade class. 

6. What is gained by correlating physiology with other 
branches? Give a specific illustration. 



210 Public School Methods 

7. What dangers arise from the use of common things 
to illustrate anatomical and physiological facts, such as 
referring to the joints as hinges, the heart as a pump, etc.? 
How can such dangers be avoided without omitting the 
illustrations? 

8. How would you show your pupils that such acts as 
walking, running and breathing lead to waste of tissue? 
What illustrations can you give of the repair that the system 
is constantly undergoing? 

9. What are the requirements of the law in your state 
relating to the teaching of physiology? What difficulties do 
you have in meeting these requirements? 

10. Which is of the greater importance and why, instruc- 
tion concerning the effects of stimulants and narcotics upon 
the human system, or training of the will? Give reasons 
for your statement. 



LESSON SEVENTEEN 

MUSIC 

1. The Aim of Music in the Public Schools. Public school 
music has suffered from a misapprehension, on the part of 
the general pubHc and most teachers, of its aims and possi- 
bilities. Music has been looked upon as an accomplishment 
for the talented, and its study has been confined to those 
who displayed unusual ability or taste in that direction. 
This is no more reasonable than to say that because a child 
does not show evidences of becoming a great mathematician 
he should not study arithmetic. 

Music has great educational value. Probably no one 
would deny its value as a culture study, but not all appre- 
ciate that in addition there is no other subject in the 
school curriculum more useful in training the senses and 
in mental discipline. Properly taught, music trains the 
ear, the eye, the voice and the hand, and furnishes the best 
kind of exercise for the intellect. It is not the aim of 
public school music to turn out musicians, but to make 
appreciative listeners, to open up a world of esthetic 
enjoyment and culture for those who otherwise would 
never know this pleasure, and to arouse and strengthen 
the pupils so that they will do better work in every other 
study. 

There is a certain fundamental knowledge of music that 
everyone can acquire. Any teacher who can teach reading 
can teach music, even if her knowledge of the subject is 
limited — provided always that she is willing to make the 
necessary effort. She should be able to sing the scale cor- 
rectly ; she should be able to detect inaccurate tones and 
she should have some knowledge of music notation. Given 
these, plus a wilHngness to apply herself to the task in hand, 
she can begin the teaching of music and will find herself 
growing in power as the children advance. 
211 



^1^ Public School Methods 

2. Material. The teacher should provide herself with 
a pitch-pipe (the Congdon chromatic pitch-pipe is the best*) 
and a blackboard staff liner.' She should have a plentiful 
supply of rote songs, among the best collections of which 
are the Songs of the Child World, by Jessie L. Gaynor, and 
Songs and Games for Little Ones, by Mildred and Pattie 
Hill. (See Section 13.) A copy of the Rote Song Book, 
First Steps in Music, by Ripley and Tapper, will give the 
greatest possible help in the beginning. Later, a book that 
will furnish material for practice is necessary for the pupils. 
For this purpose the Harmonic Primer by Ripley and Tapper 
is among the best. Charts, too, are necessary for the same 
purpose. If the board will not furnish them, the teacher 
can obtain the charts in pamphlet form and put the exer- 
cises on the board. 

3. Care of the Children's Voices. It is of the utmost 
importance that the teacher understand how to take care 
of the children's voices. This does not mean that she must 
give a course in voice culture, but it does mean that she 
should know how to preserve the natural voices of the 
children. 

(a) Rules. There are a few simple rules, which, if 
followed, will be very effective. 

(i) First, remember that there is much more danger of 
singing too low than of singing too high. A child's voice 
is naturally high and clear and ought to be sweet rather 
than shrill. To preserve this child quality, everything 
should be sung in a high pitch. It is a good general rule 
to have the songs and exercises lie within the compass of 
the staff; that is, not below e, first line, or above /, fifth 
line, although the voices can be carried higher than /, and 
they can go lower than e if they start high and sing down 
and back. Many of the rote songs should be pitched higher 
than they are written. This may not be comfortable for 

iLyon&Healy, 199 Wabash Avenue. Chicago, or any music store, will furnish 
this. The price is about 15 cents. 

* A good staff liner may be secured from any school supply company for about 
ao cents. 



Music ^1^ 

the teacher unless she happens to be blessed with a high 
soprano voice, but she must remember that the children 
are to do the singing. While she is teaching the rote song 
she can pitch it for her own voice, but when the children 
have learned the melody, it must be pitched for their voices. 
The teacher should not sing with the pupils after they have 
learned the song. 

(2) In teaching the scale, start with high do and sing 
down and up. In all vocal and scale drills follow the same 
rule. 

(3) Have the pupils sing the scale with the syllables 
loo and coo, both of which give a sweet, smooth tone. 

(4) In pronouncing words, as also in giving the scale 
syllables, dwell on the vowel sounds and not upon the con- 
sonants. 

(b) Suggestions, (i) More can be done for the voices 
of children in singing songs than in any other way, for here 
we have the emotional interpretation, of which more will 
be said under the head of Rote Songs. 

(2) Never allow the children to shout. Work for a clear, 
light, sweet tone, not for volume. It is better to say to 
the children, "sing sweetly" or "sing lightly," rather than 
always "sing softly." Just to say "softly" sometimes 
cultivates a suppressed, dead tone. What we want is a vital 
tone, without harshness. Insist that everything, whether it 
be a scale drill, sight reading exercise or song, be given 
with this good tone. This brings better results than many 
vocal drills. 

4. General Principles of Methods. Music is a language, 
and teaching music, in process, is much like teaching a 
child to use and read his "mother tongue." There is this 
difference for the teacher, however: A child comes to school 
with a certain vocabulary of words. He can talk. He has 
ideas which he can express in spoken language. He has 
no vocabulary of tones. The teacher must do for him in 
music what the mother and his brothers and sisters have 
done in the use of words. She must furnish the vocabulary. 



214 Pvblic School Methods 

She must lead him to express himself in tones. This power 
he acquires by imitation. When he can imitate he must 
leam to recognize what he hears. When he can hear tones 
and recognize them he is ready for a written representation 
of them, or what we call music notation. The final step is 
the interpretation of the written signs — or reading music — 
commonly termed sight reading. The steps in methods, then, 
are imitation, recognition, representation and interpretation. 

6. Imitation, (a) The Rote Song. The rote song, or 
song to be taught by imitation, is the foundation of music 
study. By means of it a child's musical sensibilities are 
aroused, his feeling for melody and rhythm awakened. The 
songs should be selected with care, that they be within the 
child's voice range, that the melody is simple and the rhythm 
well marked. Care must be taken, too, to select songs hav- 
ing the right kind of words. Mere doggerel will not do. 
The poem should be good, as a poem, without the music. 
It should be something that appeals to the child, either to 
his experience or his imagination. Children Uke fanciful 
things, and even nonsense verses. The songs may be selected 
to correlate with the nature study, the geography, the study 
of trades and industries, etc. There are many beautiful 
songs of the seasons. In this way the music may enrich 
all the other subjects and stimulate the child's interest in 
everything. 

In presenting the song it is well to lead up to it by means 
of some informal conversation or a story, but do not insult 
the children's intelligence by an elaborate introduction to 
something with which they are perfectly famiHar. When 
they are interested in what the song has to say, sing the 
entire song, so that they will have the whole story. Then 
sing the first stanza, or the whole song, several times, until 
the melody is fairly well fixed. After that, take it phrase 
by phrase, having the children sing each phrase after it is 
sung by the teacher, until the entire song is memorized. 
Songs may be taught by rote just as long as the songs you 
want the children to sing are beyond their ability to read. 



Music 215 

Caution. Do not make the mistake of teaching too many 
songs. Children love to sing the same things over and over. 
More than that, the song should always be simg with the 
same thoughtful interpretation given it at the first render- 
ing. If this is done, you will find there is a limit to the number 
of songs they can master. 

(b) Uniting the Voices. While the class as a whole 
will be able to learn the songs in the manner described 
above, there will be many little voices that will waver from 
the time and probably only a very few that can carry the 
tune alone. It is therefore necessary to carry on another 
line of work parallel to this song singing. The first step in 
this more definite study is to unite the voices on a single 
tone. Let the teacher sing any tone (as C, third space; D, 
fourth line) with any syllable — do, loo, koo, no — and have 
the children imitate the sound. Hold it until all the waver- 
ing tones tmite on the correct pitch. Then try another 
tone. When they can imitate the one tone correctly, give 
them two tones, an octave apart; as, 



m 



Do do 

Then give them groups of tones — anything that suggests 
itself to you — like sol, do, mi; do, mi, sol; sol, la, ti, do; 
do, re, ti, do; do, mi, sol, do, remembering always to keep 
the pitch high. Make the exercise a play and call the chil- 
dren by name in time; for instance, 



ft 



Car - rie, Ma - ry. 



m 



How do you do? I'm ver -y well. 



216 Publico School Methods 

And so on. Use ingenuity in making up different com- 
binations, but do not keep it up too long. The whole object 
of the exercise is to develop the power to hear accurately 
and imitate exactly. Have each one try alone. Individual 
work should be emphasized throughout the music course. 
Next teach the scale as a melody, beginning on high do. 
This may be taught first as a little song (see scale songs in 
Rote Song Book), then with loo, then with the syllables, do, 
ti, la, sol, fa, mi, re, do; ascending, do, re, mi, fa. sol, la, 
ti, do. Drill on the scale tones until they are very familiar, 
but do not keep the children at that kind of work more 
than four or five minutes at a time. All drill should be 
given with absolute attention and concentration and with 
children this cannot be sustained long. 

When the pupils can sing the scale with the syllables, 
have them sing it in different keys and practice changing 
from one key to another. Have them sing the high do and 
the re above, hold this tone (re) and call it do, then sing 
down the scale. In staff notation the exercise is this: 



^^ 



Do re do 

You will probably have to show them how to do this the 
first time, but they soon master it. When they have done 
so, a great point is gained; for all the work in modulation 
and changing of key — as well as much of the drill in chro- 
matics and minor — depends on their ability to do just this 
thing. 

Taking C for the starting point every time, have the 
pupils sing do, re, mi; change mi to do, and then sing down 
the scale. Let them sing down to sol; change sol to do. 
Once they have the idea the exercise is very simple. 

6. Recognition of Tone. To hear and to imitate is only 
the first step toward the mastery of a language. In music, 
the pupils rnust be led to discriminate between tones and 



Music 



^17 



to recognize what they hear. Let the teacher hum, or sing 
with loo, the first phrase of any song which the children 
know and see if they can give her the correct words. Later, 
she may select any phrase in a song and see if it is recog- 
nized. This can always be made an interesting game. 

Leading to more definite tone recognition, the teacher 
sings the scale, thus: 

% ^ .. _ ■ —I 



I 



saymg, 



'This is the scale down.' 

I l l 



Then, 



ti 



"This is the scale up." 
tones; as. 



Then sing or hum three or four 



i 



and a-sk the children if the voice goes up or down. Con- 
tinue that practice with various exercises until they can 
always tell whether the progression is upward or down- 
ward. Try them with just two tones and see if they can 
tell which is high and which low. Begin with a large interval, 
like the octave. When they can tell that 



^^ 



is down, and 



i 



is up, a distinct point is gained. Then sing 




Loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo 



218 



Public School Methods 



and ask the children to give the syllable names. They will 
sing back, 



^ g 



« sr 

Do ti la sol fa mi re do 



Then sing or hum various combinations, the pupils reply- 
ing with syllable names; as, 



i 



Loo loo loo loo 



Do ti la sol 



These exercises should be progressive, easily so, gradually 
increasing the number of tones and the difficulty of the 
combination. A good series may be found in the Rote Song 
Book. 

7. Representation of Tone. When the children have gained 
considerable facility in recognizing tone, they are ready for 
some representation of it. As the staff notation is the one 
they will always have to read, it is the best to give it from the 
start. So let the teacher draw the staff, and place the clef 
and key signature. Have the children sing the scale and then 
say to them, "This is the way we write it:" 



m 



Have the children practice putting the notes of the scale in 
different positions, the teacher making the staff, placing clef 
and key signature, telling the pupils where to place do. Then 
sing or hum the same simple exercises that have already been 
used in training them in recognition. Have the pupils sing 
the exercises back to you with the syllables, and as they sing 
them write the notes on the staff. Do not have them take the 



Music 219 

time to make the round notes, but let them write the music 
thus : 



The teacher sings, 



and the pupil writes, 



i 



tj 



* 



h g * 



Loo loo loo 






f 



He can make these little straight lines as he sings the tones 
and afterwards can make them into round notes, if desired. 
That is not essential. It is very easy to change these marks 
(•«• ) to quarter notes by adding a stem ( J J ), or to eighth 
notes by adding stem and flag ( J^ J^ ). What we are working 
for here is location of pitch on the staff, and it is not wise to 
give the children too many things to think about at one time. 
This recognition of tone is the most practical ear training; 
the writing trains both hand and eye. 

The exercises should increase in difficulty as rapidly as 
possible, consistent with accuracy. It is better always to 
begin the drill with the simpler combinations, for some of the 
children are much slower than others and cannot hear many 
tones. All the principles of sense training will apply to this 
work, for the proper study of music is essentially a training 
of the senses. 

Music notation should mean for the child only the written 
representation of what he hears, either in audible sound or in 
his "mind's ear." If this order, recognition, then representa- 
tion, is followed, much of what has seemed difficult in music 
teaching will disappear. There has in the past been too much 
study of signs and not enough study of the things for which 
the signs stand, just as in reading there was too much study of 
words and not of the ideas they represent. The things or 
ideas with which music deals are tones and combinations of 
tones, and the avenue by which they reach the mind is the 
auditory nerve; hence, the importance of hearing before 



220 



Public School Methods 



attempting to read. The ability to hear with the mind's ear 
is as important as to see with the mind's eye. 

8. Recognition of Rhythm. There are two elements in 
music; they are tone, or time, and rhythm. In the rote song 
the child has experience with both. In fact, all music, even 
the simplest exercise, must combine the two elements. In the 
exercises given above the teacher supplies the rhythmical 
element in her singing of the little times and she should always 
be careful to sing them rhythmically as tunes, not as detached 
tones. One tone by itself has no meaning. In the rote song 
the children have learned to feel the measure — the two-beat, 
three-beat and four-beat measure — and to feel the swing and 
movement of the music. Now we must bring this into simple 
form for them to recognize it definitely. The teacher should 
sing any little exercise like 



4^v Jij jij J ^ 



with a very marked accent on the first note in each measure. 
Let the children clap their hands for the beats, a loud clap 
for the accented beat, a soft one for the unaccented. Let 
them make circles in the air, a large one for the accented 
beat and a small one for the unaccented. Do the same thing 
with an exercise having three beats to a measure; as, 



I ft r r r 



T-+-r 



^ 



^ 



X X 



and with four beats; as, 

-c: 



jir nrrffiJ^J ^^ 



Sing any tune that you happen to know with a marked 
accent and then have them discover the number of beats 
in a measure. This can be made a very interesting exercise, 
but do not keep it up beyond the point of usefulness. 



Music 



221 



9. Representation 

accent, as follows: 



of Rhythm. Sing the scale with 



r\ U 


-= 


-=: 


-= 




-= 




"/k t 


-t5>— 


-cy ^g^ 








=i 


rw 






_Si (5,— 




■-■<g- 


-^ 



Write as you sing it: 



m 



Then tell the pupils you will put a bar before the note 
that has the accent. There is already a bar at the begin- 
ning of the staff, so the first one comes just before the third 
note. Sing the exercise through again, putting the bar in 
the proper place as you sing, and a double bar at the end, 
and you have this notation: 



m 



Then make the notes quarters, by adding the stem. Sing 
the exercise as you put in the stems. Then place the meter 
signature, f, and you have the complete exercise: 



i 



\?. r * \ \ \ 



sSB 



J Jl i I I 



Or, you can make them half notes and the signature 
will be f ; as, 



^ 



##=^ 



^^ 



Whole notes will give the signature -f-. 

Let the pupils know at once that the upper figure of 
the meter signature shows the number of beats in a measure 
and the lower figure shows what kind of a note receives 
one beat. After this let the exercise combine tone and 



222 



Public School Methods 



rhythm, except the more difficult tone combinations, follow- 
ing the above process. 

For instance, the teacher sings, 



jj^ijj r r r 1 ^ -' ^ i j ^ J i j ' * ' 



The pupils sing and write as they sing, the teacher draw- 
ing the stafiE and placing the clef and the key signature. 



Then sing it again, this time the pupils putting in the 
bars; as, 



ip 



=*=iF 



Again they sing it, putting the stem to the notes; as. 



m 



1=? 



J J l j J J 1^ ^ 



After this the pupils may determine what the meter signa- 
ture will be. It is |, which is put in its proper place, and 
they have this complete little melody: 



m 



^ 



^ I ! I 



-Jfe-Hg- 



This shows the process of recognition and the representa- 
tion of what is heard, and this same process should be carried 
throughout the entire music course, both for the presenta- 
tion of all new points and for the frequent practice in ear 
training. An easily progressive series of exercises in both 
tone and rhythm will be found in the Rote Song Book. 

10. Interpretation. (a) Definition. Interpretation is 
the translation of the printed symbols into vocal language. 



Music 223 

The only difference between interpretation in ordinary- 
reading and in music is that in reading we translate the 
printed into the spoken word, while in music we translate 
the symbols and the accompanying words into song. This 
is what is meant by "reading music." It is commonly 
called sight reading, and is the last step in the process of 
interpreting the printed signs. 

(b) Methods, (i) Variety. There is no reason why a 
pupil should not read a page of his music primer or reader 
as readily as he does his English primer. The secret of 
both is in much practice. When pupils have a certain vocab- 
ulary of words, the teacher does not spend all her time in 
the effort to increase this vocabulary. What she does is to 
give the class many combinations of these same words. 
Each sentence is read in a manner to express the idea 
embodied, and not as a mere calling of words. The same 
sentence is not repeated until it is committed to memory, 
for this is not reading, but the same words are arranged in 
different expressions. The same principles must be applied 
to the reading of music. When the pupils can read a simple 
exercise made up of the consecutive scale tones — that is, 
having no skips — he should not at once be put on something 
more difficult, but should have many exercises of the same 
grade. 

(2) Rhythm. There should be many exercises contain- 
ing only consecutive tones in different keys before rhythm 
is introduced into the reading, then many exercises in con- 
secutive tones and the simplest rhythms in different keys 
and meters. There should be some drill on skips without 
meter signature, then many reading exercises in different 
keys containing skips and with simple rhythm. The music 
reading should be done in the same manner as the English 
reading. Have the pupil look the exercise through from 
the beginning to the end to see what is the musical idea, 
then let him sing it as a complete sentence or phrase. Form 
the habit of reading the exercise or song through to the end 
at the first trial, for reading at first sight is largely a matter 



224 PMic School Methods 

of habit. Even if there is an error, it is better to go on to 
the end and then correct the error in that exercise or call 
the pupils' attention to it and give them another exercise 
containing the same point. 

(3) Tempo. Cultivate the habit of reading the exercise 
in good tempo. Do not let the pupils think because the 
exercise is new it must be taken very slowly. That is not 
reading; it is only picking out the notes. To read is to give 
the correct tone with the correct time to each, and at a good 
rate of speed. You will find that the rhythm often carries 
the class along and helps over some difficult places. Be 
sure to Have the accent marked and the tone good. In 
other words, make the reading of every exercise, no matter 
how simple, the interpretation of the writer's thought. The 
artistic rendering of a song is nothing more nor less than 
carrying out this principle. 

(4) Expression. A song is a poem in a musical setting. 
If the music is well written, it expresses in tones what the 
poem expresses in words. The two together should give 
a fuller and more beautiful expression than either alone. 
Be sure that the children vmderstand what the poem means, 
and that in singing the song they are to tell with their voices 
all that the poet and the composer meant to tell. Have 
the pronunciation and the enunciation clear, dwell on the 
vowel sounds rather than on the consonants and have the 
tones well forward; that is, have them think of the tones 
as on the lips. Have them feel that they are singing to you, 
that they are telling the thought or story to some one. This 
will bring a vital tone. It is this sympathetic quaHty that 
pleases when we hear it, although we may not know what 
it is. Without it, the most perfect voice and most perfect 
vocal technique is cold and fails to touch our hearts. When 
endowed with the sympathetic quality, and only then, does 
music have its full meaning. 

11. Order of Development, (a) The Natural Process. 
This lesson is planned to cover the work that should be 
accomplished in the first three grades of an eight-grade 



Music 225 

school, when the subject is well established and the pupils 
are quite up to grade. The order of development would be 
the same wherever the subject is introduced for the first 
time. The method would be the same, except that with 
older pupils much less time would be given to the imitation 
period, while recognition, representation and interpretation 
would progress almost simultaneously. The process is 
as follows: 

1. Rote songs for primary pupils have already been 
discussed. With older pupils the singing of songs learned 
by imitation will serve several purposes. By careful inter- 
pretation of the songs the voices are brought into tune, 
and music is made to have a new meaning. There is no 
better way to inspire patriotism than to sing our national 
songs in a manner to express all that the poets and com- 
posers felt when writing them. The singing of such songs 
as Old Folks at Home and My Old Kentucky Home will do 
wonders toward strengthening the home feeling. Much 
of national character and history can be brought out by 
such songs as Auld Lang Syne, Blue Bells of Scotlmtd, Gayly 
the Troubadour, The Harp that Once thro' Tara's Halls, The 
Alpine Horn, and others of the same kind. In this way, 
from the start, music can serve to enrich the study of his- 
tory, literature and nature. It can broaden and deepen 
the pupils' sympathies and add vastly to their appreciation 
of the good and the beautiful. It serves an excellent social 
purpose, for in no other exercise is it so necessary for each 
one to work for the good of all. In chorus singing one voice 
out of time can spoil the whole performance. Accordingly, 
the rote songs for older pupils should be selected from the 
best of our old and familiar songs. Another point in favor 
of these songs is that there will usually be some pupils in the 
class who already know them, and these can help the teacher. 

2. Voices united in single tones by imitation. 

3. The scale learned as a melody. With older pupils, 
the scale should be represented in different keys as soon 
as they can sing it. 



226 Public School Methods 

4. The recognition of tones of the scale when sung by 
the teacher to some neutral syllable, as loo, koo, hm, etc. 

5. Writing of the tones recognized. 

6. The reading of exercises of the same character. With 
older pupils these three points (4, 5 and 6) can be taken 
in one lesson. 

7. As soon as a certain faciHty is gained in recognition 
of tone, the element of rhythm is added. 

(b) Syllabus for First Three Years. Keeping in 
mind this method of presenting every new point, first 
through the ear, the order of development would be as 
follows : 

(i) First Year. The Scale. Exercises in consecutive 
tones; that is, without skips. 

Exercises in simple rhythms without skips, say in | 
and f or f and | meters. 

Exercises with skips. This brings about the study of 
the individual tones of the scales and gives the power to 
come back to any particular tone from any other tone. 
First study upper do. Have the pupils sing do-ti, ti-do, 
dwelling a little on ti. Then do-ti-la and repeating la, sing 
la-do, and so on. Do-ti-la-sol ; sol-do; do-ti-la-sol-fa, fa-do; 
do-ti-la-sol-fa-mi, mi-do; do-ti-la-sol-fa-mi-re, re-do; do-ti- 
la-sol-fa-mi-re-do', do^-do'; (high do is represented thus — 
do'; and low do, do^). Then study lower do in the same 
way. Give this in the key of D or E; do^-re; re-do^; do^-re- 
mi, mi-do^, etc. Next study sol, taking it in the key of 
F or G, and the exercises will be do^-re-mi-f a-sol ; sol-fa, 
fa-sol; sol-fa-mi, mi-sol; sol-fa-mi-re, re-sol; sol-fa-mi-re-do^, 
do-sol; do^-ti-la-sol ; sol-la, la-sol; sol-la-ti, ti-sol; sol-la-ti-do', 
do-sol. Next study fa; then ti. All of these should be put 
upon the staff, the teacher singing, the pupils recognizing 
and writing. If she has a chart, these drills will be found 
printed in full, so that by using the pointer she can 
give a rapid drill in using the various skips. Then the 
pupils should read some exercises in simple rhythm con- 
taining some of the easier skips. Nothing is said in these 



Musix; 227 

grades about keys; the teacher tells the pupil where to 
find do. 

(2) Second Year. Review of first year's work. 

Study of the remaining tones of the scale, which are mi, 
re and la. The pupils should have many opportunities in 
this grade to read simple exercises. By this we mean exer- 
cises in simple rhythm, containing no skips. 

During the year all the common meter signatures should 
be introduced, -|, f , |, |, f , |, f. The only variation or 
difficulty in rhythm should be the use of the short note 
and the long note. The short note receives one beat, or 
count, the long one receives two or more beats. For instance, 
with a meter signature of |, the exercise will contain half 
notes and whole notes; with f there will be quarter notes 
and half notes, and so on. Remember these exercises should 
be in various keys, and during the year the pupils' atten- 
tion should be called to the key signatures as a means of 
determining the position of do on the staff. No effort should 
be made to teach keys. What we are working for is faciHty 
in reading simple exercises, not theoretic knowledge. For 
the sight reading practice, the pupils should have a book 
of graded exercises and songs. With little children, the 
rote songs should be continued and about one-half the 
music should be given to singing of songs. 

(3) Third Year. Review what has been done in the 
first and second years. This does not mean that you should 
go over the same material. It means that the pupils must 
read many exercises embodying the principles previously 
taught and not containing new difficulties. This is what 
makes quick, ready readers. 

The new points presented in the third year are the 
divided beat and the chromatics, sharp four and flat 
seven. To present the divided beat, let the teacher first 
sing, 



^2 J J I J J I J J I J J I J \I^ 



^2B 



Public School Methods 



with a decided accent, and have the pupils tell the number 
of beats in a measure, also the number of tones to one beat. 
Write it on the blackboard. Then the teacher should sing, 
beating time while she sings, 



It may be necessary to repeat this several times before 
they hear two tones to a beat; when they have heard the 
phrase, write it on the board, as above. Then take various 
combinations of divided and undivided beats; as. 



and 






j J I n J i-mr^ 



This is the rhythmical problem and during the year should 
be worked out in all ot the different meters, f , f , f , f , f , f. 
The divided beat, or | meter, can be taught by comparison 
with 4; as, 



Then i f and |: 




^^^J^ ^ '5-&f ^^ i^ IJ^ ^ ^ £ g [Mljjje 



Music 



^29 



Then: 



hfeij:;jfrr;i^'^ jjjjijjj^r'"^i^^-'j^j i > i 



The children must hear and recognize various combina- 
tions of divided and undivided beats in different meters 
and write what they hear; as 



jJrr l rr^ l JJ^f l rf^JIJ-n 



\ PhU ii^ f j i n ^^ 



In presenting a new point in rhythm there should be 
no difficulty in tone. So in presenting new problems in 
tone all difficulties in rhythm should be dropped. In 
other words, present one thing at a time and give the 
necessary drill and many applications in sight reading 
exercises and songs before combining it with another new 
problem. 

The new tonal problem in the third year is the intro- 
duction of chromatics. Sharp four, being the most com- 
monly used chromatic tone, is the first to be presented, 
and it is introduced by comparison with something already 
familiar, and in the following manner. The pupils sing 
exercise A, 



p J J IJ H [p J ||J U - 1 



Do ti do 



Sol fi sol 



first with do-ti-do, then with loo-loo-loo. Exercise B sounds 
just the same and is first sung with loo-loo-loo, then with 
the syllables, sol-fi-sol. For drill this is worked out in various 
keys. For instance, 



230 



Public School Methods 



tt 



=mL^ui ^ 



Do ti do 



Sol fi sol 



i,h' r i r - i f^r^rir -i 



Do ti do 



Sol fi sol 



I fy! J | J - 1 ^^^^^ 



Do ti do 



Sol fi sol 



Do not expect to master the rhythmic problem before pre- 
senting the chromatic, but do not present them in the same 
exercise before each one is well mastered. Keep the rhythmic 
and tonal problems advancing on parallel lines until they 
can be combined. At the same time keep up the practice 
of reading exercises containing skips without chromatics 
and various rhythms without the divided beat. 

To accomplish results it is necessary to put into the 
hands of the pupils a properly graded series of exercises 
and songs, suggestions for which are given at the end of 
this lesson, 

12. General Suggestions. The various phases of the 
music work must progress evenly. Do not allow the pupils 
to become weak in any line. If they have difficulty with 
time, give them additional rhythmical exercises. If they 
keep good time and are weak in the matter of tone, strengthen 
that part of the work. 

It is well for the teacher to have in mind a general pro- 
gram or order for each recitation, such as the following: 

1. Vocal drill. 

2. Ear training; oral, written. 

3. General chart or blackboard drill. 

4. Drill on special point. 

5. Sight reading. 

6. Songs. 



Miisic 231 

It is not possible to take up every point in each recita- 
tion, but with such a plan in mind, no phase of the subject 
will be neglected. 

Before you begin the lesson, have it definitely settled 
in your own mind what points you mean to touch and just 
how much time you mean to give each. 

Have a definite end in view for each recitation and make 
every part of the lesson contribute to the accomplishment 
of this end. Make every minute count. 

Remember that in the study of music we work for skill, 
for facility in doing. Do not waste time in talking about 
things, but keep the pupils doing something. Dr. E. E. 
White says, "The desire for efficiency in action is one of 
the strongest impulses of childhood." 

All drill should be for a definite purpose. Drill on prin- 
ciples or typical forms. Drill is effective only when there 
is interested attention and concentration on the part of 
the class. It should not be carried to the point of weari- 
ness. When possible, there should be an application of 
the principle in a sight reading exercise before leaving the 
lesson. 

Have a happy spirit in the music period. You cannot 
scold children into singing; but remember that a smiling 
coimtenance helps in the production of good tones. 

13. Helpful Books for Teachers, (a) Primary Rote Songs. 
So7tgs of the Child World. Jessie L. Gaynor, 2 vols. John Church 
Company, Cincinnati. 

Songs and Games for Little Ones. Walker and Jenks. Oliver 
Ditson & Co., Boston. 

Songs and Games for Little Ones. Mildred and Pattie Hill. Clay- 
ton F. Summy & Co., Chicago. 

A Primer of Vocal Music. Eleanor Smith, (Modern Music Series.) 
Silver, Burdett & Co., Chicago. 

(b) First Steps in Music Training. Rote Song Book: First 
Steps in Music. Ripley and Tapper. American Book Company. 

(c) Graded Music Courses. Am.erican Music Reader, No. i. 
Macmillan Company. 

A Common School Book of Vocal Music. R. Foresman, Editor. 
Silver, Burdett & Co, 



232 Public School Methods 

Harmonic Primer, Natural Music Course. American Book 
Company. 

New First Music Reader, Educational Music Course. Ginn & Co. 
Novella Music Primer. Novello, Ewer & Co., New York. 

(d) For Mixed Grades. Common Sclwol Song Reader. Ginn & Co. 
Short Course in Music. Ripley & Tapper. Books I and II. 

American Book Company. 

(e) Charts. Natural Music Charts, Series A, B, C. American 
Book Company. 

Educational Music Charts. Introductory Chart (to precede 
F.irst Reader); First Chart (Supplementary); Second Chart (Supple- 
mentary); Third Chart (Supplementary). Ginn & Co. 



TEST QUESTIONS 

1. What is the value of music as a pubHc school study? 

2. How can injury to the children's voices be prevented? 
What is the best means for securing a "vital tone?" 

3. What subject is analogous to music in the method of 
presentation? How many and what are the steps to the 
general method? 

4. What is the value of the rote song? When and how 
long should it be used? 

5. How would you select and present a rote song? 

6. Will all children be able to learn a song without pre- 
liminary work? How would you teach the scale? 

7. Describe a lesson in recognition. What two elements 
have to be considered in music? 

8. Describe a lesson in representation. 

9. What is meant by interpretation? Does this apply 
to songs alone? 

10. How would you modify this method for adult pupils? 



LESSON EIGHTEEN 

THE USE OF THE SENSES 

1. Function of the Senses. The child gets all his primary 
ideas of the external world through the use of his senses. 
Upon the activity of the senses which bring the child into 
contact with the world all mental action is based. The 
things of the external world impinge upon highly specialized 
nerve ends, which are called sense-organs, and stimuli are 
carried along the nerves to the brain. If the brain is con- 
scious of the report, it makes some kind of a response; so 
the brain and the world act and react upon each other through 
the mediation of the sense organs. Were it not for the 
senses, the brain and the world would have no way of 
influencing each other. There are five such senses through 
which the external stimuli act — sight, hearing, touch, smell 
and taste — and the order in which they are named somewhat 
suggests the order of their educational importance. Sight, 
hearing and some uses of touch are highly educative, and 
furnish the material out of which grow the images necessary 
to intellectual life. Other uses of touch, taste and smell 
minister primarily to the body, seizing upon or warding 
off those things useful or harmful to physical life. However, 
there is no sharp line of difference between their intellectual 
usefulness, and the more that are used upon a given object, 
the more information concerning it the mind obtains. 

2. Relation of the Senses and Knowledge. A baby seizing 
upon a new and interesting object subjects it to all of the 
tests of his senses. He grasps it in his hands, feels of 
it, gazes at it, pounds with it, puts it into his mouth. The 
knowledge he gains thereby is a vital, personal and somewhat 
definite thing to the child, with which the mere verbal 
description given him by an older person would in no way 
compare. To attempt a comparison of the child's knowledge 
of a doll as gained by his own investigations, using his senses, 

233 



234 Public School Methods 

and as gained by hearing an older person's verbal description 
of it, shows the unlikeness of the two experiences. His 
observation of the doll is necessary to put content into, or 
give meaning to, the verbal description. 

The mind of the child at six years of age is not so different 
from the baby's mind that the school is warranted in com- 
pletely changing the method of learning from observation 
through the use of the senses to learning about things through 
words of books or teachers. The child and the adult learn 
in the same way. There are discoverable principles of mental 
action common to both, and this readiness to seize upon 
the environment by means of the senses is one such principle, 
only that to the child the sense element plays a greater part. 
All recognize that even adults, somewhat habituated to dealing 
in abstractions, comprehend a new object more readily if 
they use their senses upon it. For this reason the stereopticon 
lecture appeals to the public more readily than the unillus- 
trated lecture. Shopkeepers cannot prevent waste due to 
the tendency of the public to touch and handle objects. Even 
in art galleries, where the appeal of the objects is wholly to 
the eye, signs are posted forbidding the touching of pictures 
and statuary. These and many other illustrations which 
you will readily recall prove the general activity of the senses 
through life. 

3. Necessity for Use of the Senses. Finding that the 
senses offer a tangible, concrete means of investigating things, 
we may safely assert that the child's senses are a factor to 
be utilized in the educative process. The statements of 
many people are unreliable because their observations have 
been made so carelessly that they are not able to give exact 
information. The special senses should be used as tools 
for investigating objects of interest to the child, and the teacher 
should make such requirements and arouse such inquiries 
that the child will use his senses carefully and definitely. 

4. Defective Sense-Organs. It is the teacher's first duty 
to ascertain whether or not each pupil's organs of sense are 
in a healthy, normal condition. Investigations of school 



The Use of the Senses 235 

children indicate that about twenty per cent are defective 
in hearing in one or both ears. A large proportion of the 
children considered peculiar, dull or inattentive are found 
to be defective in hearing. It is obvious that grave injustice 
is done these children if such defects are not discovered and 
corrected as far as possible. It is also futile to present lessons 
with a view to the child's getting sense-impressions if the 
outer organs are so defective that they cannot respond 
properly to stimuli. At free moments the teacher should 
make a series of tests, in order to determine for herself the 
condition of the eyes and ears of her pupils. 

(a) Testing the Ear. A test of hearing may be made 
by means of a watch. A person of good hearing will ordi- 
narily hear the ticking of a watch when it is five feet away, 
but since the ticking of watches differs in loudness, the 
teacher would best ascertain how far her watch can be heard 
by the average listener. To find how far from the ear of the 
pupil to be tested the ticking can be heard, lay a tape line from 
the child to the opposite side of the room. Place sanitary 
cotton in one of the child's ears and have him close his eyes; 
then approach gradually, noting the distance at which the 
child can hear the watch tick. Make a separate test for each 
ear. He may indicate by movements of the finger the rate 
of the ticking. The test should be made several times to 
insure the correctness of the report. If his hearing is found 
to be defective, his parents should be notified and advised 
to consult a physician, who may find that adenoid growths 
are the cause, in which case their removal will probably put 
the child into normal condition and permit him to take up 
his school work with new zeal. It may be but a temporary 
impairment, due to recent ihness, such as measles or scarlet 
fever. He should be given a front seat on that side of the 
room which allows him most use of his better ear, for the 
two ears are seldom equally defective. The teacher's knowl- 
edge of the [child's defect will incline her to a tactful 
consideration of him, and to an added effort to speak clearly 
and distinctly, for his sake; and she will not be likely to 



236 Public School Methods 

condemn him for dullness or inattention. See Care of the 
Ear, page 198. 

(b) Testing the Eye. Each pupil's sight should be 
tested at least once a year. The per cent of children with 
defective sight is greater than the cases of defective hearing. 
Test types employed by oculists, together with directions 
for their use, are now accessible. These cards can be obtained 
of Ginn & Company, Chicago, or of any oculist. They cost 
but a few cents, and should form a part of the teacher's outfit 
unless she is in a system of schools where the superintendent 
or principal is provided with appliances for testing the eyes 
of children. To test a child for defective vision, place the 
card in a good light and seat the child in front of it, twenty 
feet distant. Place a card over one of the pupil's eyes, but 
tell him to keep both eyes open, and name the letters, begin- 
ning with the largest and passing successively to the smaller 
sizes of type as long as he can distinguish them. If he cannot 
read without hesitation letters which the normal child should 
see easily at a distance of twenty feet, take the next largest 
type that he can read; notice the distance at which it should 
be read by the normal eye. Repeat the experiment with 
the other eye. The child's parents should then be informed 
of the result of your test. This will usually lead to his receiv- 
ing the needed attention. These tests should be made when 
no other children are present, and should be so conducted 
as to relieve the child of all embarrassment. Headaches 
and nervousness are frequently the result of eye strain. 

(c) Right Conditions. When the eyes are found to be 
in normal condition, provision should be made to keep them 
so. The schoolroom should be adequately lighted, the main 
light entering preferably from the left of the children. The 
books should be printed in clear, large type. In the primary 
grades the non-loop letters should be at least two milhmeters 
in height, with a space between lines of four millimeters. 
Blackboard writing of the teacher and the children should be 
large and distinct, the non-loop letters being about two inches 
in height. Copy-books are a strain upon the eyes, and are 



The Use of the Senses 237 

pedagogically poor for other reasons ; but if they must be 
used, the periods for such work should be very brief. Only 
jet black ink should be used. If needlework is taught, all 
the materials should be so coarse that fine stitches are impos- 
sible. The making of large bags of art burlap and work of 
similar nature is far better than fine sewing for little children, 
because there is no strain upon the eyes, nor upon the small 
muscles of hands and arms. See Care of the Eye, page 194; 
Seats, page 287; Lighting, page 291; Blackboards, page 293. 
5. Facts Concerning the Senses. When the primary 
teacher is satisfied that each child is equipped with normal 
sense organs, and that the conditions of the schoolroom are 
adjusted to preserve these organs, she should so plan her 
work that every lesson demands some activity of the senses. 
In order that this work may be done successfully, she needs 
to understand the following facts concerning them: 

(a) Development of the Sense-Organs. At the age 
at which the child enters school his senses are keen, but the 
organs of special sense are not fully developed; therefore, 
the pupils of primary grades should not be given exercises 
requiring too fine distinctions in color, form or measurement. 
At first, simple objects should be used, and observation of 
the most prominent features only should be required. How- 
ever, the teacher must never forget that the child's interest 
in an object gives him a motive for the observation, and 
she should always select objects of interest, even though 
they are occasionally more complex than she would wish. 
Such objects she will find in connection with all the primary 
school studies; they should always be used in connection 
with the studies and as a means of approach to them — not, 
for their own sake, separate and apart from others things. 

(b) The Functions of Each Sense. Each set of sense- 
organs conveys to the mind ideas peculiar to itself, and which 
primarily cannot be conveyed through any other channels. 
A person bom blind never has an idea of color, and one bom 
deaf never has an idea of sound. Some blind people form 
apparent exceptions to this, but in every instance these people 



238 Public School Methods 

became blind after birth, relying, after their misfortune, upon 
their past experiences. 

(c) All the Senses Must Be Used. To appeal to some 
senses and neglect others is to give the child a one-sided 
mental development, because each sense contributes some- 
thing to his store of knowledge which none of the others can 
supply. The sense of sight is more easily appealed to than 
any other, and teachers are prone to arouse images gained 
through sight, to the neglect of hearing, touch, taste and 
smell. Primary knowledge obtained through the eye alone 
is incomplete. 

(d) Proper Physical Conditions. The senses are 
keenest when the body is in an unwearied condition. This 
keenness is dulled by general fatigue or a prolonged use of 
the special organ. An odor which at first is disagreeable is 
soon tolerated, and a little later is scarcely noticed. Water 
which feels hot when the hand is first plunged into it seems 
to cool quickly, because the sense of touch has become accus- 
tomed to the temperature. Nervous diseases often irritate 
the organs of special sense and lead to abnormal activity. 
Sometimes, in children of nervous temperament, some of 
these organs are abnormally sensitive; a slight sound causes 
the child to jump, and a touch to which others would give 
little heed, produces pain. Such children should be watched 
very carefully to see that their senses are not unduly excited 
by any school exercise. 

6. The Sense Factor in All Lessons. By presenting sub- 
jects so that the senses may lay hold upon them, the apparently 
dull child in the room may be aroused physically and mentally. 
There is no better way to get a child into an active condition 
of mind and body than by making his work so tangible and 
concrete that his eyes and ears and fingers and muscles are 
called into play and given work to do which reacts upon his 
ideas, making them more vivid. By no other means can 
the motor-minded, " thing- thinking " children be brought 
into participation in school work. The senses cannot be 
trained apart from facts to be learned. They cannot be 



The Use of the Senses 239 

exercised apart from the acquiring of information about 
things. This indirect sense-training results naturally and 
inevitably from interest in and observation of things in the 
immediate environment. The motive behind the use of 
the senses gives meaning to the child's observations. 

(a) Reading. The primary teacher who realizes the 
value of sense-training will plan her first reading lessons 
upon objects present to the children's senses, as indicated 
in Lesson Two. She will find many things which may be 
brought into the schoolroom to serve as subjects for these 
first blackboard reading lessons. It may be Mary's doll or 
Ahce's kitten, or George's wagon or a bunch of dandelions 
or pussywillows, or a crawling caterpillar or a toad, but what- 
ever it may be, the actual thing should be there in the room 
for the children to handle and look at. The words then will 
be the children's words, representing their ideas gained 
through their experience with these things. The first grade 
children in a city school were given a reading lesson upon 
nlilkweeds. There were no milkweeds within many miles 
of the schoolhouse. The children read of the "milkweed 
balloons which floated up into the air." Later they were 
asked to draw pictures of things in the reading lesson, and, 
using colored crayons, they drew red and blue and yellow 
disks representing the gas balloons, with strings attached 
which they had seen vended upon the city streets. Their 
notion of milkweeds was wrong because they had never had 
the experience of touching and seeing milkweeds. Children 
should never be allowed to use symbols for ideas and things 
which are unknown to them. It is aUowing wordiness or a 
pretense of knowledge to pass for genuine knowledge. Too 
often reading is only word-naming, and does not reach back 
to this necessary sense experience with things. 

(b) Writing. Likewise the child's first writing and 
composition lessons should be based upon direct acquaintance 
with things. There is more chance that his writing will be 
genuine and interesting to him if it grows out of his exper- 
ience. In the first grade he may write only short sentences, 



240 Public School Methods 

but these should relate to actual experiences. See Spelling 
and Penmanship, pages 154-183. The first grade child should 
do nearly all of his writing with chalk upon the blackboard, 
and but little at his desk, and he should be taught to write 
very short, simple sentences expressing ideas of some interest 
to him. The teacher should first write the short sentence, 
the children watching her movement and the resulting form. 
She then should erase her writing so that the children must 
depend upon their complete picture or image of her writing, 
and not mechanically copy it, line for line. The children, 
being desirous of writing, will observe the teacher carefully. 
They will use the muscular sense, touch and sight as means of 
accomplishing the thing of interest to them. Again we see 
that the activity of the senses is never to be sought as an 
isolated thing, nor an end in itself, but as a means of accom- 
plishing something. Second grade children may write at 
their desks, if given sufficiently large materials to prevent 
the fine writing that produces tension of nerves and uses too 
small muscles of hand and arm. Marking crayons, or pencils 
with very large, soft and blunt lead, and rough, unruled 
paper the size of desk tops, or longer, will require the large, 
free movement of arm and hand and make no strain upon 
the eyes. Third grade children may use ink, if the pen point 
is coarse and the paper ruled into spaces twice the width of 
those on ordinary foolscap. 

(c) Number. Let us apply the same principle to the 
teaching of primary arithmetic. A generation ago children 
were taught to "cipher" or to "figure." The number facts 
learned by little children were given as sums of figures, and 
the children learned to perform certain operations upon them 
and get correct answers. Teachers should bring every number 
fact to the children through their own activities in handling 
objects. All the simple number facts may be met in the 
making of cardboard boxes, raffia picture frames, reed baskets 
and other articles. (See Construction Work, page 58, Sections 
35*37-) The playing of games involves score keeping. For 
instance, a board with several five-inch or six-inch holes 



The Use of the Senses 241 

cut in it may be used as a target, and bean bags may be 
thrown through the holes, each bag thrown through counting 
three or four points. Or, small hoops made of rope may be 
thrown over an upright stake, each hoop thrown over counting 
a stated amount. These games furnish exercise for the 
muscular sense. (See Games, Volume One, page 175.) The 
teacher should have boxes of various objects, such as sticks, 
toothpicks, marbles, etc., which she may use to present 
number facts when her ingenuity in providing games and 
handwork fails her. While we know that those things which 
have motive and purpose to the child are the best means of 
involving him in number activity, practically we find it 
difficult always to provide such games and handwork as will 
present the number combinations which are necessary. At 
such times the purely "objective" method may be resorted 
to. While it ignores the child's interest in purposeful acts, 
it does appeal to his interest in manual activity. The sticks 
or marbles should be distributed among the children, and 
in combining and separating these they discover number 
relations through their own senses. Number, then, is felt 
to bear relation to things, and to be vital to life. When 
children meet their number problems first through handwork 
or games, the number facts are associated with their first- 
hand experience with things, and have a reality that such 
tests lack when taught abstractly. 

(d) Geography. Geography, which is introduced as such 
into third or fourth grade, utilizes the child's sense-perception 
as a tool by which his mind may grapple with geographical 
facts. Let the land and water features close about the school 
and the neighborhood industries be the child's first teachers 
of geography, because these things he investigates by direct 
sense-perception. The surroundings of the schoolhouse will 
very likely offer examples of hills, valleys and plains, and 
after a heavy rain, rivers, streams, islands, peninsulas, capes, 
bays, etc., and the changing of land forms through the action 
of water in cutting away and depositing soil. Even though 
these are found in miniature, the child's discovery of them, 



^4^ Public School Methods 

hearing the name for each form in connection with the thing 
seen, will give them a reality to his mind which the book 
description alone would not equal. When the child returns 
to the schoolroom, let his senses be enlisted once more for 
the clinching of his newly acquired knowledge. Give him a 
large, shallow sand-pan, and let him illustrate with it the 
various forms of land and water action. Then have him 
lay a large piece of paper upon the floor and draw upon it 
those features in the environment which he has been observ- 
ing, including features other than land and water forms, as 
houses, clumps of trees, etc. Let him keep the right direction 
always on his paper, keeping the north of his diagram always 
to the actual north. This will tend to give a sensuous reality 
to all maps, and it also tends to do away with calling the north 
on a wall map "up." It frequently represents low land, 
and is "down," not "up." Such mistakes result from using 
maps without thinking of the relation they bear to the things 
they represent; and giving the child sense experiences and 
then having him chart these experiences for himself will do 
much to put reality into other maps. 

Take the children to see the industries of the neighborhood 
in operation. The three principal activities that men have 
always engaged in are connected with the getting of food, 
clothing and shelter. Find examples of these activities in 
the neighborhood of the school, and take the children to see 
these things. If the school is in the country, take the children 
first to a farm and investigate the production of food-stuffs; 
then, if possible, take them to market where they are distrib- 
uted. At the grocery store they will see these farm products in 
form for the consumer. They will see in the grocery other 
things than those produced on the farm, and the steps in the 
manufacture of these things, something of the countries and the 
people from which they come, will assist the children to feel 
the reality of other places and peoples. If the school is in a 
town, the teacher would better take the children to the grocery 
store first, since it is nearest at hand, and then trace its stock 
back to the farm and other places, as suggested above. 



The Use of the Senses 243 

Next, the study of clothing may be taken up. The gar- 
ments which the children are wearing will include linen, 
cotton, woolen, silk, leather, fur and rubber. These should 
be examined and differences of many kinds found. The 
different senses may be used to advantage in this work. The 
children should handle samples of these materials until they can 
discriminate between them by feeling. Bits should be burned, 
and the children should get the characteristic odors of each 
— the oily smell of woolen, the hairy smell of silk and fur, 
the smudge of cotton and linen, and the stench of rubber 
and leather. A study of the growth and manufacture of 
these materials will offer as wide a field as time will permit 
the teacher to cover. 

Lastly, for a study of shelter visit some house in process 
of construction and then study the sources of materials there 
used. Three books which may be used to amplify the exper- 
iences gained through the senses are How We Are Fed, How 
We Are Clothed and How We Are Sheltered, by Chamberlain, 
and published by the Macmillan Company. 

Out of sense experience of geographical facts the child 
acquires definite ideas which will assist him to understand 
those things of which he will read later in his geography, and 
which it will be impossible to take him to see. Because so 
much of his later study must be based upon earlier and simpler 
sense experiences, it is important that these sense experiences 
of the primary grades should be as clear, definite, accurate 
and frequent as possible. 

(e) History. Through geography the children have 
become interested in present day activities in obtaining food, 
clothing and shelter, and will then be interested in finding 
out how men used to obtain these necessities. This will 
lead to a study of primitive life. If accessible, a museum 
should be visited, where specimens of these things may be 
seen. Then the children should draw and construct, with 
whatever materials are available, the moccasins, body-cover- 
ings, head-coverings, weapons, traps, tents and caves which 
they have discovered were used by primitive men for food, 



244 Public School Methods 

clothing and shelter. Some excellent books which may 
be used to amplify the sense experiences are The Tree Dwellers, 
The Early Cave Men, The Later Cave Men and The Tent 
Dwellers, by Dopp, published by Rand, McNally & Co. 

Another phase of history — local history — may also be 
approached through sense experiences. Old settlers may 
be interviewed, old land-marks visited, and, if possible, a 
museum visited where relics may be on exhibition. Such things 
will vivify the book material and give reality to incidents 
therein related. 

A third phase of history, proper, for late third grade or 
fourth grade, is local government. This should be approached 
through experience rather than through a book. The chil- 
dren should be taken to the city hall, where, if possible, they 
should talk with the mayor as to his duties as executive of 
the town; they should attend a council meeting, or, if that 
is impossible, talk with a councilman concerning his duties, 
and examine the records of council meetings and visit the 
council chamber; and, thirdly, they should talk with the 
city marshal or policeman, those who are directly active 
in enforcing the laws. Such experiences lay the foundation 
for understanding state and national governments. 

(f) Drawing. In drawing, the pupil is given an object 
to handle, look at, and draw as it appears to him. The 
teacher points out mistakes by helping him to a more careful 
observation of the object, noting points wherein the drawing 
does not accord with the observable facts. Drawing demands 
definite and exact observation, and the result is proof of the 
accuracy or inaccuracy of the observation. The senses of 
sight and touch must both be used in observing the object 
and in recording the impressions so gained by the child. If 
the child has drawn an apple and failed to record the depres- 
sions in its rotundity where stem and blossom grow, the 
teacher will not tell the child to draw it so but she will ask 
him to feel of it again and when he finds the depressions (and 
the teacher may have to call his attention to them by some 
adroit questions), she will then ask him if his drawing tells 



The Use of the Senses M5 

about them; if it does not, he must change it so that it will 
tell the facts about the apple. Occasionally the teacher will 
ask the children to draw some object from memory. After 
attempting it and finding their limitations in clearness of 
mental pictures, they should be given an opportunity for 
observation again ; this time they will see much more definitely 
and accurately, and their next drawing will be much truer 
to the facts of the object. 

(g) Nature Study. The first requirement for nature 
study is contact with nature through sense-perception. The 
teacher's effort should be turned to arousing curiosity and 
inquiry in her pupils' minds, and then leading them to satisfy 
the inquiry by first-hand investigation of nature, which leads 
to a wider and more intelligent research. 

7. Importance of Indirect Sense-Training. The mind's 
desire to know about a given set of facts quickens observation 
in that field. A store of ideas and questions concerning these 
facts accumulates, and this wealth of mental content makes 
the mind ready to investigate the subject further, using 
sense-perception as one means of the investigation. It is 
the mental content or knowledge that makes one observant 
in a given direction, not a keenness of sense perception in 
itself. A naturalist whose mind is already filled with ideas 
about nature notices a wealth of inconspicuous details when 
he goes into the woods for a ramble. These inconspicuous 
things are significant to him; they have meaning, because 
they fit into his previous experience. The ordinary observer 
accompanying him might say that his sense-perception is 
very keen. But upon examination it would be discovered that 
he was quite likely to be unobservant of people's clothes, of 
changes in the hanging of the pictures in his home, of slight 
differences in flavor of foods. These are not along his lines 
of interest. His mind is not curious in these directions. His 
senses give no evidence of keenness in themselves when used 
upon any set of facts, but only when used upon those things 
which his mind, by previous knowledge, is fitted to attend to. 

The difference between the naturalist and the untrained 



246 Public School Methods 

observer is not due to the action of the sense organs, but to 
their previous experiences, which either interpret or fail to 
interpret the report of the senses. There is no independent 
power of sense-perception keen in itself for seizing upon any 
kind of facts. Rather, there is keen sense-perception along 
lines in which one is interested and has some knowledge. 
Interest furnishes a motive for perception. The content 
of the mind, its "apperceptive mass," determines when and 
how thoroughly the senses will be employed. The tea 
taster's experience in testing different grades of teas gives 
him such definite knowledge of teas that he can make fine 
discriminations between various qualities, not because he 
exercised his sense of taste in every way, but in this particular 
way until he acquired a store of ideas concerning teas. It 
is the content of the mind which makes it capable. 

Therefore, the efficient primary teacher directs her chil- 
dren's interests in things about them, and provides that 
they shall come into direct sense contact with these things, 
seeing that ears and eyes and fingers are used as tools for 
intimate discovery. She knows that the more ways of 
testing that the child uses the fuller and more definite will 
be his comprehension. 

8. Books for Teachers. 

Child and Curriculum. Dewey. University of Chicago Press. 

Fundamentals of Child Study. Kirkpatrick. Macmillan Company. 

School Hygiene. Shaw. Macmillan Company. 

Study of Children. Warner. Macmillan Company. 

Elements of Psychology. Thorndike. A. G. Seller, New York. 

Education of the Central Nervous System. Reuben Post Halleck. 
Macmillan Company. 

Apperception, or, A Pot of Green Feathers. Rooper. C. W. 
Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y. 

Apperception, translated by De Garmo. Lange. D. C. Heath & Co. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

I. What defects arise from training the sense of sight 
to the neglect of the other senses? Give one or more illus- 
trations from your own observation. 



The Use oj the Semes 247 

2. By what mental process are you able to recognize a person 
by his voice, a bell by its sound, or the quality of a fabric by 
its effect on the sense of touch? Give one illustration. 

3. What is your plan for detecting defective hearing? 
For detecting defective sight? 

4. Show why the senses are best developed through the 
regular school exercises. 

5. Show how keen observation assists one in reasoning. 

6. What school exercises do you consider best for training 
the powers of observation? Give reasons for your answer. 

7. In what way do games aid in training the senses? 
Give a specific illustration. 

8. What is the relative value of the sense of touch, com- 
pared with the sense of hearing? Compared with the sense 
of sight? 

9. Why does fatigue affect the activity of the senses? 
Of what value is a knowledge of this fact to the teacher? 

ID. Which do you think the more advantageous for 
developing the powers of observation, the city or the country? 
Give reasons for your answer. 



LESSON NINETEEN 

MORAL TRAINING 

INTRODUCTION 

Let reverence for law be taught in schools and colleges; be written 
in spelling books and primers; be published from pulpits and pro- 
claimed in legislative houses, and enforced in courts of justice. In 
short, let it become the political religion of the nation. 

Abraham Lincoln. 

1. Necessity for Moral Training. The subject of moral 
training in public schools has received attention ever since 
schools were established and in all systems of education 
moral training has occupied a prominent place. It was 
formeily the custom in some schools to give set lessons on 
morals, which had for their purpose the teaching of the under- 
lying principles and rules of moral action; much of this 
teaching was formal and consequently ineffective. 

Failure to secure good results by the old method, com- 
bined with the belief, generally prevalent in many localities, 
that moral training cannot be separated from religious 
training, are doubtless the most potent reasons for the status 
of moral training in the public schools of the United States 
at the present time. With scarcely an exception, all moral 
instruction in our public schools is indirect and incidental. 
While educators agree that indirect and incidental teaching 
is of the greatest value, they also agree that unless such 
teaching has back of it a well defined purpose, it is liable to 
be disconnected and well nigh worthless. 

That moral training should receive more attention than 
is given it in most schools is evident from the following 
reasons : 

(a) Disregard for Law. It is not to our credit that we 

are foremost among the great nations of the world in our 

disregard for the laws upon our statute books, both state and 

national. Very many of our citizens look upon the observ- 

248 



Moral Training 249 

ance of certain laws as a matter of convenience, of commer- 
cial advantage or of public sentiment. This is particularly 
true of those laws having for their purpose the preservation 
of public health and the prevention of contagious diseases. 
Laws restricting commercial privileges and imposing license 
fees and other taxes are also frequently evaded. Many other 
illustrations of this increasing tendency might be given. 

Evasion of law leads to disregard for law; therefore, the 
schools should impress upon the pupils the sacredness of 
law and the obligation of all citizens to obey the laws under 
which they live — those of the nation, the state and the city. 

(b) Lack of Home Training. Home conditions are far 
different from what they were in the days of our forefathers. 
Then the home was the center of all industry and influence; 
now, especially in cities, it is too often only the place where 
the members of the family sleep and take some of their meals. 
In many such homes the younger children seldom see their 
father except on Sundays and holidays. The street is often 
the only playground, and the children's associates are those 
who come from homes similar to their own. Under such 
conditions home influences are less strong than formerly, 
and it is the duty of the school to supply, as far as possible, 
this lack of home training. 

(c) Lack of Knowledge of Right and Wrong. In the 
main, children desire to do right, but they frequently err 
because they do not know what is right. In some homes 
they are taught to know the right; in others, they receive 
little or no instruction along this line. The instructor has 
excellent opportunity to teach her pupils to know and to 
do what is right. 

(d) Legal Requirements. In some states formal instruc- 
tion in morals is required by law, thus placing this branch 
on the same footing as language, arithmetic and other subjects 
in the course of study. In all states the schools are expected 
to give some attention to moral training. 

(e) Public Opinion. Consideration of the conditions 
named above has developed a general feeling throughout the 



250 Public School Methods 

country that the schools should do more along the line of 
moral training than they have been doing in the past. Each 
year this sentiment gains strength, and teachers should meet 
the demand thus placed upon them. As one has aptly put 
it, "The three R's should stand for right, respect and 
responsibility. " 

2. Factors in the Problem. In her work in moral training 
the teacher has certain factors with which she must deal. 
While these may vary in proportion in different schools, 
they are all present and must be considered. They may be 
roughly classified as internal agencies, external agencies, 
and method. Each group is worthy of careful consideration. 

INTERNAL AGENCIES 

3. Nature of a Moral Act. A complete moral act includes 
the mental activities of knowing, feeling and willing. In 
order that the child may perform a moral act, he must know 
that it is right. He must have a desire to perform the act, 
and must make the desire effective by carrying it into exe- 
cution. The internal agencies, then, which constitute an 
important factor in moral training are those forces within 
the child by which, in a large measure, his activities are 
determined. 

4. Heredity. Every child is born with certain mental 
tendencies which become evident early in life. One child 
is quiet, possibly somewhat morose, and likes to think things 
out for himself; he may be slow in reaching results, but 
he is usually right. Another is fond of play and full of 
fun and laughter; he prefers to be carried on his way by his 
associates and spends very little time in earnest thought. 
A third is easily grieved, and so on. As the teacher becomes 
acquainted with her pupils, she discovers these individual 
differences to which she must adjust herself. 

The power of heredity is much stronger in some children 
than in others, but in nearly all hereditary tendencies can be 
modified by environment and training. These tendencies 
are the first to develop, and when the child enters school 



Moral Training 251 

they usually form his leading traits of character. If good, 
they are to be fostered; if evil, they should, as far as possible, 
be suppressed. These tendencies affect the child's temper- 
ament, mentality and will, and they may affect his physical 
condition; this, in its turn, if abnormal, tends to aggravate 
and strengthen any peculiarity which the child possesses. 
How to deal with children possessing strong inherited ten- 
dencies is often a perplexing problem, and one which taxes 
the teacher's tact and ingenuity to the utmost. 

5. Emotions. The emotions develop more rapidly than 
the reason and the will, and, consequently, the child is sub- 
ject to their sway much more than the adult. The tendency 
to act in accordance with his feelings is so strong that he is 
impulsive rather than thoughtful; he laughs, cries, strikes, 
kicks and does numerous other acts simply in response to 
his feelings. When actuated by anger, jealousy, desire for 
revenge and other malevolent feelings, he thoughtlessly does 
what he may become sorry for when he takes time to reflect. 
The teacher who understands this condition endeavors so to 
manage her school as to keep the pupils in a pleasant frame 
of mind, and to prevent ill feelings of any description. In 
the right school atmosphere the desirable emotions are 
strengthened by constant activity, and the undesirable are 
weakened by constant effort to suppress them. 

6. The Will. Moral training is synonymous with will 
training. Since the will is the most prominent factor in 
moral action, it must be given due consideration in any plan 
for moral training that the teacher may adopt. The will 
develops slowly, and previous to the fifteenth year it is 
weaker than the emotions. During this formative period 
the will should be strengthened by constant exercise in mak- 
ing right choices. As far as possible, occasions for lapsing 
from these choices should be avoided, for such lapses weaken 
the child's power of decision. The will should also be strength- 
ened in its power of inhibition by encouraging children to 
resist their desire to do those things which are injurious to 
themselves or to others, and by assisting them to render 



252 Public School Methods 

prompt and cheerful obedience to teacher and parents. 
The child's will needs guiding, not breaking. 

7. Experiences. Every experience leaves its impression 
upon the mind, and by the time the child arrives at school 
age he has accumulated a stock of impressions which have 
given him a certain view of life. This view includes his ideas 
of right and wrong, and determines very largely his attitude 
towards his schoolmates and the teacher. A child coming 
from a home pervaded by an atmosphere of kindness and 
gentility will usually have a kindly feeling for his associates 
and the teacher; moreover, he will be kind and gentle, and 
will refrain from doing what he thinks will injure others. 
On the other hand, a child whose home life has been notably 
lacking in these qualities will usually be suspicious, careless 
of the rights of others, and will consider many things right 
which the teacher and most of the children consider radically 
wrong. Between these extremes are numerous grades or 
conditions, each of which makes an impression upon the life 
that it touches, and nearly all of these grades are found in 
every school. 

8. Ideals. The child's ideals are determined very largely 
by his environment and experiences ; his associates exert the 
strongest influence in their formation. These ideals enter 
very largely into his new life and in time influence his ambi- 
tions and actions. If right ideals are formed before the school 
period of life, the child's moral training has been well begun; 
but if he cherishes wrong ideals, the teacher has the difficult 
task of leading him to change them for those she desires him 
to have. The child's ideals and experiences help or hinder 
in the work of moral training. 

EXTERNAL AGENCIES 

9. Importance. In the preceding division we have dis- 
cussed briefly those agencies which lie within the child; some 
are inherent, others are acquired. We now wish to call 
attention to the most important of those external agencies 
which influence the child in the formation of character. 



Moral Training 253 

When these agencies exert right influences their power for 
good is immeasurable. When their influence is wrong, they 
constitute an obstruction which it is almost impossible for 
the teacher to remove. 

10. The Home. The home is the most important agency 
in the development of character. It is here that the child 
comes under the influence of his parents, receives his early 
moral training, and forms his first ideals. In the home he 
spends the greater portion of his life during the period of 
:;hildhood and youth, and in the home his habits of Hfe are 
largely formed and even his choice of life work is made. 

The school has the child for an average of six hours a day 
from six to nine months in the year, while the home has him 
the remainder of the time. We can see at once that even 
the best schools cannot accomplish as much as the home in 
the development of character. Moreover, the school grew 
Dut of the home. 

The child needed to be taught, and in the early settlement of this 
country, the whole time of the parents being taken up in providing 
:he necessities of life, they hired a tutor. This tutor, or pedagog, 
vent from house to house and taught, and finally his employers 
combined their interests and provided a place where all could be taught, 
jach bearing his proportionate share of the expense. Naturally, 
;hose of the same attainments were taught together, and thus was 
ieveloped the class; out of the class grew, in course of time, the 
jrade; from the grade, the graded school; from the graded school, the 
jraded-school system, by which more than fifteen million children of 
;he United States are taught today. The school, then, in all its 
greatness, is the outgrowth of the home. It touches and is upheld 
md maintained by all the families of the United States. It is man's 
providence against ignorance and for wisdom in the child. It is the 
lome's way of working out the best interests of the child. It is the 
creation and creature of the home, and not the home its creature.^ 

We can readily understand that the school and the home 
;hould be in unison in the work of moral training. The teacher 
vho possesses the tact and ability to maintain cordial rela- 
;ions with the various homes represented by her pupils 

1 Helen L. Grenfell. From an address before the National Educational Asso- 
iiation, i8g9. 



254 Public School Methods 

seldom fails to secure satisfactory results in moral training. 
All teachers should study how to establish and maintain 
relations of this kind. In small towns and rural communities 
this is not difficult, but in the crowded districts in large 
cities it is often impossible for the teacher to visit the homes 
of her pupils. She can, however, invite the parents to the 
school and in this way become acquainted with some of them. 

In many places parents' organizations are formed, and 
through them a close relation between the school and home 
is maintained. In general, these organizations should be 
managed and officered by the parents, while the teachers 
should cooperate with the management in planning the work 
and providing for the meetings. 

11. Society. By society we mean the people outside the 
home with whom the child is brought in contact. The asso- 
ciations thus formed are more or less potent in the formation 
of the child's character. Taken as a whole, society stands 
for public opinion, and to this both old and young alike 
conform. If this opinion stands for high ideals and noble 
living, it wields a strong influence for right; but if public 
opinion sanctions those beliefs and practices which are 
injurious alike to the community and the individual, it must 
be radically changed before moral training in the schools 
can make much progress. 

Within every community we find certain groups, some 
organized for definite purposes, others seemingly thrown 
together by chance, but each exerting its influence upon the 
child. Chief among these are the following: 

(a) The Street. By the street is meant the association 
which the child forms in city or town in promiscuously 
mingling with people whom he meets. Many of his street 
acquaintances become this playmates, and in the congested 
districts of large cities the street is usually his only play- 
ground. The influence of such associations is usually pro- 
ductive of more evil than good. Many a child has entered 
upon a career of crime through the influence of associates 
whose acquaintance was formed in this way, and much of 



Moral Training ^55 

the insubordination in the home and the school can be traced 
to a hke cause. The child's associations should be known 
and controlled by his parents. 

(b) The Gang. The gang is formed in response to the 
child's craving for companionship, and his wish to cooperate 
with others. The gang consists of members of nearly the 
same age who band together for specific purposes. It is 
more frequently found among boys than among girls. The 
leading idea in these organizations is loyalty — loyalty to the 
organization and to the leader. So far as this goes it is good, 
but altogether too often the purposes of the gang are evil, 
and the influence of the members upon each other becomes 
anything but desirable. The gang spirit flourishes between 
ten and fifteen years of age, after which it begins to decline. 
If the influence of the gang is favorable to the teacher and the 
school, the organization may be used for accomplishing 
much good. There is nothing wrong in the gang idea itself; 
it is the outgrowth of a natural desire on the part of those 
forming the organization. Both teachers and parents should 
recognize this, and by sympathy and tact gain control of 
these organizations, not in an official sense, but in an advisory 
manner. By so doing they can lead the members and the 
organization as a whole along right lines and make the gang 
a strong force in moral training. Especially during the 
adolescent period is this necessary, because imagination and 
desire are particularly active, and the will, judgment and 
reason have not assumed their full sway. 

(c) Other Organizations. Social organizations for 
children and young people more or less under the control of 
adults are found in almost every community. Some are 
church organizations; others are branches of large societies 
distributed over the country, such as the Audubon Society 
and the Agassiz Society, and there are still others that are 
purely local. When rightly managed, these organizations 
are very helpful in developing among their members the 
spirit of loyalty and in impressing those virtues of society 
which are so essential to a successful life, namely, courtesy 



^56 Public School Methods 

and thoughtfulness for others. They are also beneficial in 
giving a training in cooperation, which is essential in the 
accomplishment of any great result. 

12. Schoolhouse and Grounds. While the home and society 
are factors with which the teacher must reckon, they are 
primarily without the sphere of her control. Her relation 
to them is only advisory, and her influence upon them such 
as she can secure through her personality, her tact and her 
success as a teacher. The school and all that pertains to it 
are, however, under her direct control, and here she should 
be able to make her influence strongly felt. 

Order, neatness and beauty make a strong impression 
upon children and are highly appreciated by them. An 
important agency in moral training is found in the school 
premises as a whole. If everything about the grounds and 
building is kept in good repair, if the lawn has a rich carpet 
of green, with flowers and shrubs here and there, and if there 
is a space for a school garden where all can work, the influence 
of the school grounds will be most helpful. 

The teacher cannot always secure these conditions, but 
where she is responsible for the care of the school premises 
she can do much toward establishing them. In graded 
schools the principal or superintendent, or both, are expected 
to look after these matters. For a more detailed discussion 
of what may be done, see pages 286-296, Sections 3-5. 

13. The Schoolroom. The influence of the schoolroom is 
more far-reaching than many think. Its effect should be 
such as to give the boy an impulse to remove his hat 
when he crosses the threshold. Softly-tinted walls, a few 
choice pictures, perfect cleanliness, furniture and apparatus 
properly arranged and window shades so adjusted as to 
allow the proper amount of light to enter, will give the 
room an atmosphere which tends to produce this effect. So 
far as possible the teacher should see that her room is in 
perfect condition before the first day of school, then by 
constant vigilance maintain the high standard she has 
established. 



Moral Training 257 

Such a room brightens the Hves and appeals to the highest 
sentiments of both teacher and pupils. If boards of educa- 
tion realized more fully the influence of the schoolhouse and 
schoolroom in the development of character, much greater 
attention would be given to the design and decoration of 
school buildings than they now receive in most localities. 
Wherever it is necessary, the teacher and the parents' 
organization should use their influence to secure neat and 
attractive buildings, with schoolrooms suitably lighted, 
furnished and decorated. 

14. The School. The school itself touches the lives of the 
children even more closely than the schoolroom. It is 
possible to create such an atmosphere within a bare and poorly- 
equipped schoolroom that the moral nature of the children 
will grow under it as a seedling grows under the summer sun. 
The general agents of the schoolroom which contribute to 
moral training are discipline, the requirements of regularity 
in attendance, and promptness in obedience to regulations 
and in the preparation of the work assigned. Whatever 
his training at home, when the child enters school he comes 
in contact with new conditions and is brought under new 
influences. 

The day that he first goes to school is the turning point in his life. 
It is the day that he takes his first great step, from a life in which his 
home is all in all, towards a larger life in which the complex of relations, 
which we call the State, will become real and significant for him.' .... 
It has not yet dawned upon him that the family, which is his world, 
is constituted and protected as a member in a larger society. The 
school, and particularly the kindergarten and primary school, is for 
him an intermediate stage by which he may be led gently and surely 
to a consciousness of his wider relationships.^ 

This change requires a great deal of adjustment, and 
during the process the child learns many new lessons about 
his conduct towards others. One of the first and most 
important of these is that of prompt and cheerful obedience 
to the commands of the teacher and the ru les and regulations 

• Elmer Ellsworth Brown, United States Commissioner of Education. 



^58 Public School Methods 

of the school. This lesson of obedience is one which the 
child has the right to be taught early in life. He next learns 
that he works with others, and that absence from his daily 
tasks affects their work as well as his own. He is therefore 
under obligation to be regular in attendance. He also learns 
that failure to prepare his lessons as required hinders the work 
of the teacher and the other pupils, and the obligation to be 
prompt is thus impressed upon him. These three virtues, 
obedience, regularity and promptness, if practiced through 
the school period of life, become habituated in the child 
and constitutes strong elements in his character in after 
years. 

Again, the school atmosphere makes for good or ill. If this 
contributes to the child's happiness and pleasure, it fosters 
the virtues of kindness, gentleness, respect and sympathy. 

In most schools, therefore, the indirect moral training 
obtained through the general regime is much greater than 
many imagine. With more careful attention to the matters 
already mentioned, this training can be made still more 
effective. 

15. Daily Lessons. In the preparation of his daily lessons 
the pupil is taught to search for truth, and the discovery 
of the facts and laws, as well as the phenomena of nature, 
tends to increase his reverence for the Creator of all things. 
In his recitations he is trained to make exact statements, 
and this impresses upon him the importance of truth. 
"Arithmetic and grammar may not cure lying, but they are 
powerful tools for discovering and telling the truth." The 
daily preparation of lessons through a term of years also 
leads to the formation of habits of industry, so that when 
the pupil leaves school he has the ability to apply himself to 
whatever tasks it becomes his duty to perform. 

16. The Teacher. The old adage, "As is the teacher so 
is the school" will never lose its force. Without question, 
the teacher is the greatest moral force in the schoolroom, and 
with rare exceptions the pupils will strive to pattern their 
lives after her example. The heritage of a pure, forceful life 



Moral Training 259 

is the best legacy she can bequeath to them. "Moral per- 
sonality is the most precious possession of any teacher. Let 
him share it with his pupils in whatever he finds best, so long 
as he offends none. " Cheerfulness, faith in children, sym- 
pathy, justness in the administration of all the affairs of the 
school, will enable the teacher to lead her pupils to the forma- 
tion of those habits and ideals which lie at the foundation of 
character. Let the branches taught be what they will; let 
the other work of the school follow such lines as conditions 
make advisable; the development of character in her pupils 
transcends in importance all else and is the work which 
should receive the teacher's most careful attention. 



17. Underlying Principles. While through the regular 
routine of the school, truthfulness, honesty, industry and 
other virtues are instilled into the minds of the pupils to a 
greater or less extent, the results are not wholly satisfactory, 
and every conscientious teacher is constantly striving to do 
more in assisting her pupils to build character. The problem 
confronting her does not consist so much in determining what 
to do as how to proceed. With a program already crowded 
with other lessons, how can she find time to give special 
lessons in moral training? Provided time can be found, can 
as much be accomplished through such lessons as through 
the discipline and regular work of the school? These and 
other questions are constantly confronting the teacher, and 
she realizes that her work must be carefully planned if she 
would secure the desired results. 

First of all, the teacher must understand the principles 
upon which character is built. Not that she should dwell 
upon them in her teaching, but that they may serve as her 
guide. In general, the less said to children about these 
principles, the better. They need to learn by doing, but the 
teacher should have very clear ideas of what the children are 
to learn. Chief among the principles by which the teacher 
should be guided in this work are the following: 



260 Public School Methods 

(i) Character is an inward growth. Moral action origi- 
nates in instinct, but "the rise from blind instinct to moral. 
insight is not made in a single bound." 

(2) Character is developed slowly, and is the result of the 
child's acts. Patience, perseverance and forbearance are 
necessary in the work of character building. The teacher 
must take the child as she finds him, and lead him by easy 
steps to a higher moral plane. 

(3) Knowledge, desire and will enter into every moral 
act. Says Hon. George H. Martin, Secretary of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education, "The elemental psychology of 
all character-making is summed up in four simple sentences: 
"I see, I like, I wish I were, I will become. " 

(4) Law is universal; nothing in the universe can escape 
the consequences of its violation. Consequently, every child 
reaps the reward of his own acts. Responsibility is one of 
the earliest lessons which the child learns. Long before he 
enters school he has learned the effects of violating certain 
physical laws, but it takes a long time for him to learn that 
the consequences of violating moral laws are just as inev- 
itable. Indirectly the teachef- must assist him in learning 
this lesson. 

18. Make a Good Beginning. At the beginning of the 
school year the children take up their work full of enthusiasm 
and good impulses. The teacher should take advantage of 
these conditions and direct these impulses along right lines. 
By pleasing manners, gentle speech, attractive personal 
appearance and executive ability, which shows that you can 
plan and do successfully whatever is best for the school, win 
on the first day of the term the respect and confidence of 
your pupils. When these are secured, see that they are never 
forfeited. When you have won the hearts of the children, 
your influence over them is practically without limit, and 
within the capacity of their understanding you can lead 
them to reach any ideal you set before them. 

19. The General School Regime. In Sections 13-16 we 
have spoken of the influence which the general conditions 



Moral Training 



2(;i 



and exercises of the school exert. But in order that the 
greatest good may be derived from these exercises, the teacher 
should always have in mind their influence upon the formation 
of character, and plan in her presentation of each lesson to 
make its moral phase prominent. However, this must be 
done indirectly. Exactness of statement in number and 
language, determination of the facts in nature study, the effect 
of good deeds as often illustrated in the reading and history 
lessons, and the uplifting influence of noble sentiments when 
once impressed upon the minds of the pupils as they naturally 
occur in the lessons, should be left to do their work. This 
indirect teaching is often the most influential that can be 
presented; it is a constant, though silent force, an unseen 
hand directing the pupils in the path of right. 

20. Special Lessons. There are many things pertaining 
to conduct which children should be taught, and which can- 
not well be presented in connection with the ordinary lessons 
of the school. These should receive attention at other times. 
The morning exercises afford good opportunity for some 
of this work, and periods devoted to special programs afford 
opportunities for the discussion of those topics which need 
more time than can be given to the opening exercises of the 
morning. With young children, whatever topic is begun 
should be finished at the time, since they are unable to pick 
up the thread of discussion where it was dropped at a pre- 
vious exercise. With older pupils the discussion may be 
continued through several periods, care being taken not to 
prolong the subject beyond the point where interest can be 
sustained. 

Conditions will vary so widely in different schools that no 
set plan for these exercises is given. In each case the teacher 
must make a plan to fit the conditions. The important 
thing is that the lessons be given. Some of the subjects 
which should receive attention in the primary grades are 
politeness, kindness, reverence, the treatment of animals, 
the treatment of plants, promptness, obedience, helpfulness, 
cheerfulness, honesty, truthfulness, behavior in society, 



262 Public School Methods 

on the street and in public assemblies. With older pupils 
these subjects should be expanded and additional topics, 
such as self-control, industry, public duty, love of country 
and charity, should be treated as fully as the age and under- 
standing of the pupils will permit. 

21. Politeness. When the child enters school his ideas 
concerning the treatment of others are those he has learned 
in his home. Some children have been properly taught, 
while others have received practically no training in regard 
to these matters . 

(a) At School. The pupils should be taught to greet 
the teacher and each other with a pleasant "Good morning," 
and to give a parting "Good evening" or "Good night" as 
they leave the building at the close of the day. This may 
be done formally, as when the teacher says "Good morning" 
to all the pupils after they are seated, and the pupils respond 

with "Good morning. Miss "; or it may be given 

informally, as when the teacher greets each pupil as he enters 
the building. The latter plan requires a little more time and 
attention, but in our opinion it is of far greater value. It 
has in it the element of personality, which makes every child 
feel that he is the object of the teacher's special interest and 
care. Where this custom is followed, children will almost 
invariably enter the room and greet the teacher as soon as 
they reach the school. 

The common courtesies of society should also be practiced 
in the schoolroom. Teach the pupils to say "Please" when 
asking a favor, and "Thank you" for any assistance rendered 
or favor granted. If the teacher invariably follows this 
custom, most of the childien will imitate her example. 

An occasional reference to these matters in the morning 
talks, with emphasis upon the value to one of always being 
a gentleman or a lady, will not only encourage the pupils in 
their practice but also help them to feel that they are becom- 
ing men and women. Again, there are numerous lessons of 
common courtesy that need to be taught on the playground. 
Impelled by their enthusiasm and energy, the older and 



Moral Training 263 

stronger children often unintentionally trespass upon the 
rights of the younger and weaker. This is particularly true 
of the boys when playing games that call for running, jumping 
and other physical feats. The boy who is allowed to be a 
bully on the playground is liable to become the political boss 
in after life. Here is the place where he should receive his 
first lessons in respecting the rights of others, and in feeling 
the limitations which society and public opinion set upon 
his acts. 

Littering the school grounds with the waste paper, the 
remnants of a lunch and other rubbish is sometimes done by 
thoughtless pupils. They should be led to see that in so 
doing they are trespassing on the rights of their schoolmates 
by making the grounds less attractive and enjoyable. Each 
owes it to the others as well as to himself to keep the premises 
neat and pleasing in appearance. 

The points to which we have called attention are sug- 
gestive of what should be done to train pupils in politeness 
in schools, but instruction is not necessarily limited to these 
matters. Whatever instruction and training the pupils need 
to make the school an ideal community should be given. 
The teacher should be alive to these needs and plan her work 
to meet them. 

(b) At Home. Sometimes the teacher's influence over 
the child's conduct is greater than that of the parents. It 
is therefore well for the teacher to discuss with the pupils 
what constitutes politeness in the home. One of the points 
upon which emphasis should be placed is cheerfulness. For 
one to be surly or ill-tempered in the home destroys the 
pleasure of all other members of the household. Attention 
can be called to the importance of cheerfulness by such 
questions as, "How many like to help mother? How many 
retire cheerfully when bedtime comes? How many get up 
promptly when called in the morning, wash, dress and prepare 
for breakfast without help? How many try to do promptly 
and cheerfully whatever father or mother asks them to do? 
How do you feel when some one in your home is surly or 



264 Public School Methods 

angry? Do you suppose they feel the same way when you 
are cross or angry?" These and similar questions call the 
children's attention to many little matters and tend to make 
them more careful to practice in the home the acts and 
virtues taught in school, 

22. Kindness. Children should be taught to love and 
have sympathy with all living things which are not harmful 
to human life. When they enter school they possess the ele- 
ments of sympathy, but the feeling needs to be developed 
by practice and also by knowledge of their relations to people 
o to animals and plants. 

(a) Schoolmates and Friends, Most children mean to 
be kind, but they are often intentionally unkind. They 
know that it is unkind to inflict personal injury and to cause 
physical pain, but they do not as readily realize that it is 
unkind to injure one's feelings by misrepresentation, by 
preventing one from obtaining his rights, and by forming 
little cliques from which the injured one is excluded. Impress 
upon your pupils the evils of gossip, by example, by precept, 
and by refusing to listen to it; more than all, by getting the 
children interested in subjects which will so occupy their 
thoughts that they will have neither time nor inclination for 
telling tales about each other. 

The same spirit of kindness which the pupils manifest 
towards one another should be manifested towards their 
other friends in the family and neighborhood. Especially 
should they be taught to be kind to the weak, the unfortunate 
and to strangers. Ask the children questions like the follow- 
ing : " How would you like to be sent to a city or town where 
you did not know anyone? If you asked someone to show 
you the way to a house or some other place, how would you 
feel if the one of whom you inquired laughed at you? How 
would you feel if you went to a foreign city and the 
children on the streets made fun of your clothes? Well, 
this is what children in this country sometimes do to chil- 
dren who come here from foreign lands. I hope none of you 
will do it." 



Moral Training W5 

(b) Animals. How many children in your room have 
pets? Learn what they are. Probably several will have 
canary birds ; some will have dogs, others own cats, and some 
may have pet rabbits or squirrels. If you can have one or 
more of these pets in the schoolroom from time to time, its 
presence will make the lessons on kindness to animals more 
interesting and impressive. 

Lead the children to become interested in each animal 
represented in the list of pets, then ask them to study its needs 
with you and see how these needs can best be supplied. 

Suppose we begin with the canary. What kind of food 
does it like best? How often does it eat? What uses does 
it make of water? How often does it like to bathe? Where 
should its cage be hung? What is the canary afraid of? 
Through answers to these and other similar questions, the 
children learn how to care for a pet canary and also learn 
that kindness to the bird consists in its proper care. 

Pursue similar studies with the cat, the dog and other 
pets. But in studying these animals you should call attention 
to numerous ways in which we are often thoughtlessly unkind 
to them. We are unkind to the dog if we deprive it of a 
chance to get water when it is thirsty; if we allow it to go 
hungry, or compel it to remain at night in cold, uncomfort- 
able quarters. Teasing any animal is unkind and often 
cruel, as when one pulls the cat's whiskers ; these hairs are so 
sensitive that pulling them causes the cat intense pain. 

From the study of pets pass to the domestic animals, and 
lead the pupils to see how dependent we are upon them for 
food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Show that it is 
not only unkind but positively cruel and degrading to abuse 
these faithful servants. Tell the children about the American 
Humane Education Society and its work, and lead them to 
form a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. 
This society should include pupils of all ages, and in graded 
schools should extend through all the grades. Read or tell 
stories of the faithfulness of animals, selecting those which 
also show their habits and manner of life. Demonstrate 



266 Public School Methods 

the value of birds to the farmer and gardener, and create a 
sentiment against robbing or destroying birds' nests. 

Most of this work should be done in connection with the 
nature study lessons, but an occasional general lesson on 
kindness to animals should supplement the work done in the 
nature study classes. 

(c) Plants, Children love flowers, but they do not 
realize the beauty and benefit of plants as a whole. If the 
school has a garden, through the care of the plants for whose 
success they are responsible most of the lessons upon right 
treatment of plants can be learned. If you have no such 
agency, pursue a course in the study of a few plants similar 
to that followed with the animals. The only plants which 
should be wantonly destroyed are those which injure crops 
or are poisonous. All others should at least be allowed to 
grow, and those upon which we depend for food, clothing or 
pleasure should have our best care. To neglect to supply 
plants with water and proper soil and protection is wrong. 
But it is not so serious a matter as the neglect of animals, 
because the animal suffers pain, while the plant does not. 

23. Reverence. Do your pupils understand what rever- 
ence means ? Probably they do not. If you find this to be 
the case, explain the meaning of the word. Ask them how 
many have a grandfather and a grandmother. A number 
of them will probably have grandparents living. Ask them 
how they should treat their grandparents. Some will have 
right ideas of the treatment of these elderly people, because 
they have been taught at home ; others will need considerable 
instruction, "Would any members of the class like to have 
their grandparents treated rudely?" The answers to this 
question will commit the children to the attitude they should 
have towards all elderly people. With this as a foundation, 
give an occasional lesson on the courtesy and deference due 
old people, and commend as you have opportunity any acts 
of kindness or special politeness which any pupil has shown 
to an old person. The lack of consideration which American 
children show for the aged is very much to our discredit as a 



Moral Training 267 

nation, and the public schools should do all in their power to 
correct this evil. 

But reverence extends beyond proper treatment of the 
aged. Children should learn and be led to feel a reverence 
for all created things, the laws and forces of nature, and, 
above all, for the Creator himself. The lessons in nature 
study and Hterature fail to reach their highest purpose 
unless they instill this spirit of reverence into the pupils. 

The personality and attitude of the teacher are perhaps 
the most potent factors in securing this result. If she looks 
upon all life as the handiwork of God; if she is naturally kind 
to every living thing ; if she sees and can lead the children to 
see in every creature its perfect adaptation to the life it is to 
live, she awakens in them that wonder for the Creator's works 
which leads to reverence for Him as the author and giver of 
all good. 

24. Promptness. Children are expected to be at school 
on time, though occasionally there is a reasonable excuse for 
tardiness. Promptness, however, has a wider application 
than this; it means being on time with whatever one has to do. 
It relates not only to all of the exercises of the school, but to 
the duties of the home, as well. Children are proverbially 
slow, and unless those having them in charge take special 
pains to have them on time, they will frequently be late in 
the discharge of their duties. If allowed to form this habit 
in early years, it is liable to cling to them through Hfe and 
constitute a great obstacle to their success. 

What can the teacher do to secure promptness in all school 
work? First, make the school attractive. Let the opening 
exercises be of such nature that the children will feel that 
something of value will be missed if they are not present. 
This will serve as an incentive to promptness in attendance. 
Again, lead each pupil to feel that it is his duty to be prompt 
as much as it is the teacher's, and that whatever he does 
helps or hinders the work of all. If he is late, others have 
to wait for him, and the work of the day is not completed. 
But little of this can be done in the first and second grades; 



268 Public School Methods 

still, a beginning can be made which in the following grades 
will develop into a strong influence in the school. 

See that pupils have sufficient time to prepare the work 
assigned. The assignment of too long lessons is in some 
schools a fruitful source of dilatoriness. When the time 
arrives for the study of a lesson as arranged on the program, 
see that the pupils study that lesson; and when the time for 
a change of work arrives, see that the change is made, whether 
the work assigned is completed or not. A little experience 
will enable you to adjust the work and program so that the 
lessons assigned can be prepared within the time allotted for 
study. 

Be prompt in calling and dismissing classes. If the recita- 
tion period is ten minutes, stop when the ten minutes are up. 
If the teacher is a laggard, she may be sure that the pupils 
will follow her example. A program is of no value unless 
it is followed. Every teacher should be sure that no cause 
for dilatoriness lies within herself. 

Pupils in the third grade and above can be impressed with 
the value of time, and they should be led to see that time 
once lost can never be regained. Furthermore, they should 
be impressed with the importance of keeping engagements. 
If we admit that one may do as he pleases with one's own 
time, one certainly has no right to waste the time of another. 
"When we fail to keep an appointment, and keep others waiting 
for us, we waste their time. When one pupil fails to prepare 
his lessons he wastes the time of the entire class. Only those 
who are on time succeed in business. By incident, illustration 
and maxim impress these truths upon the minds of the pupils. 
As a result, during their school career they will form the 
habit of being prompt in doing whatever they attempt. 

25. Obedience. By obedience is meant prompt and 
cheerful compliance with the regulations of the school and 
the requests and directions of the teacher. We have already 
called attention to the fact that when children enter school 
they have a knowledge of some physical laws, and have 
experienced the consequences of the violation of these laws. 



Moral Training 269 

One of the great lessons which they are to learn during the 
school period of life is the universality of law. Everything 
that exists is under law; there are laws which govern the 
physical universe, and laws which govern the world of spirit; 
it is only as we obey these laws that we are prosperous and 
happy. The Bible tells us that "Love is the fulfilUng of 
the law. " Laws are necessary that we may act in harmony. 
Because of this necessity we have rules that we agree to abide 
by in the school. Without these rules none of us would 
know what to do or when to do it. The teacher must obey 
the rules as well as the pupils, otherwise they could not work 
together. 

Third grade pupils can understand something of these 
principles, and the necessity for certain regulations. It is 
a good plan to have the pupils adopt by vote such regulations 
as the teacher sees are necessary for the government of the 
school. They then feel that the rules are of their own making, 
and, with an occasional exception, readily conform to them. 

Besides the rules of the school, there are those of the play- 
ground which they are also expected to obey. From the 
school and playground it is an easy step to the discussion of 
obedience in the home, and the influence of a strong, sweet- 
spirited teacher is often of great assistance in the home, 
though acting as an unseen force. 

The obedience which the teacher should strive for is not a 
slavish observance of rules, in which there may be conformity 
merely to the letter of the law, but that cheerful compliance 
with the requirements of the school within the limitations 
of which each pupil finds perfect freedom. This is obedience 
in spirit, though occasionally the letter of the law may be 
violated. In training pupils in obedience, remember that 
"the letter killeth, but the spirit maketh alive." 

26. Responsibility. We have seen that all life is under 
law and that these laws cannot be violated without penalty. 
One of the laws which children must learn by precept and 
experience is the law of responsibility. As early in life as 
possible the child should learn that the consequences of his 



270 Public School Methods 

acts are visited upon himself. He already knows that if he 
puts his hand upon a hot stove he, and not another, is burned ; 
that if he stumbles, he falls. But he does not yet realize that 
action and reaction are just as certain in the realm of his 
mental and spiritual life. This truth the school must 
teach. 

The child's desire for expression can be used to great 
advantage in impressing upon him the sense of responsibility. 
If he is faithful to the instruction of his teacher, he learns to 
read and gains a mode of expression which he otherwise would 
not have. John learns to write and Henry does not* John 
can express himself in writing, while Henry is deprived of 
this privilege as the consequence of his failure to apply him- 
self when he had the opportunity. Lead the pupils to feel 
through the daily exercises of the school that they are indi- 
vidually responsible for the preparation of their lessons, and 
that they and they alone suffer if their work is not done. 

From the daily lessons extend the teaching to all acts of 
life. The school affords many illustrations for these lessons. 
The boy who violates the rules of the playground is excluded 
by the others from its privileges, and the pupils cannot but 
feel that justice has been meted out to him. The child that 
abuses any privilege of the schoolroom is deprived of. that 
privilege, and so on. Further than this, it is occasionally 
well to let children carry out some pet scheme which the 
teacher knows can but result in failure, in order that they may 
learn from experience that they were led into it more by 
sentiment than by judgment. 

Responsibility strengthens character. The man who is 
felt to be responsible is looked up to in society and in public 
life. Those who are industrious, honest and truthful reap 
the reward of their acts in being honored and trusted by their 
fellow men, while those who are untruthful and dishonest 
are shunned and become the outcasts of society. Within 
the capacity of their understanding, lead the children to see 
that they are responsible for their acts and that they are 
building their characters day by day. 



Moral Training 271 

This idea of responsibility grows slowly, and it requires 
constant attention and infinite patience. Its development 
should begin as soon as the child enters school, and it should 
receive increased emphasis from year to year until it becomes 
habituated in the lives of the pupils. Personal responsibihty 
belongs just as much to the child as to the maturer person. 
Many a man has been saved by responsibility, and this may 
be the case with the child. 

27. Truthfulness. Most children intend to be truthful, 
but they do not always know what truthfulness means. This 
they should be taught by precept and example. In the first 
and second grades the untruths told by the pupils consist 
chiefly in exaggerations due to the child's active imagination, 
lack of judgment and failure to observe carefully. About 
the only attention such statements need is such as is necessary 
to set the pupil 'right as to the facts. He has no intention 
to deceive, and with the development of the child's mental 
powers the fault will in most cases correct itself. Deliberate 
falsehoods, prevarication and other forms of intentional 
deception are, however, of a more serious nature, and these 
need careful attention. 

(a) Lying. What is the difference between a lie and an 
untruth? How many of your pupils have ever thought of 
this? By the time they reach the third grade they are old 
enough to understand this difference, and many of them 
understand it before that time. However, it is safe at the 
outset to call attention to this difference, and to emphasize 
it by several illustrations. A lie is a statement known to be 
false and made for the purpose of deceiving the one to whom 
it is told. A lie is deliberate, is premeditated, and is told 
for a dishonest purpose. An untruth is a misstatement or a 
wholly erroneous statement supposed to be true by the one 
who makes it. The teller of an untruth usually has no 
intention of deceiving, therefore he is not at fault to the 
extent of one who tells a lie. However, the teller of an 
untruth may be far from excusable. He is responsible for 
his statements, and if he has been careless in his observations, 



%1^ Public School Methods 

or has neglected opportunities for gaining exact information 
about the subject concerning which his statements are made, 
he is at fault, and in a large measure is inexcusable. In 
the discussion of the difference between a lie and an untruth, 
this point should be strongly emphasized. 

Another point which the teacher should carefully consider 
is the reason for children's lying. Usually the cause is one of 
the points mentioned below: 

(i) The Influences of the Home. If the other members of 
the household lie, the children will lie, and they may be so 
accustomed to the practice that they see no harm in it. 

(2) Fear. The child has done something wrong, and the 
fear of punishment leads him to defend himself by lying. A 
large proportion of the children who resort to this device 
receive harsh treatment at home. 

(3) Revenge. Children will lie to those whom they do not 
like, to " get even" with them, when they would not think of 
lying to anyone whom they love. The teacher who is dis- 
liked is the target for many lies of this kind. 

Lying is more or less common in all schools, and the teacher 
should do all in her power to stop it. Having learned the 
causes, she is in position to use preventive measures which 
will do away with much of this evil practice. There will be 
cases, however, that will need special attention, and these 
must be dealt with according to their individual needs. A 
method that will be successful with one child may utterly fail 
with another, therefore no specific methods of treatment are 
given. In general, we would say : Avoid all harsh measures ; 
treat the offender kindly but firmly; always get at the truth 
in the matter, if it requires days or even weeks to do so, then 
show the offender the folly of his act. A lie is sure to be found 
out, and when discovered it places the one who told it in a 
much worse position than he would have been in had he told 
the truth at first. 

Give talks on the value and importance of truthfulness. 
Lying is cowardly ; the man who lies seldom has moral courage, 
and little, if any, physical courage. Children, boys especially, 



Moral Training • ^7S 

despise a coward; it appeals to their manhood to tell the 
truth. On all occasions create a school sentiment against 
falsehood; then in every way possible help the pupils to 
maintain the high standard they have set up. 

Show by anecdote, talks and illustrations the importance 
and value of keeping one's word. So many illustrations of 
this are to be found in business life that they can always be 
found near at hand. If men in general were not truthful, 
business could not be transacted by the methods now in vogue. 

(b) Exaggeration. Exaggeration is a form of misrepre- 
sentation, due in the beginning to a vivid imagination which 
is not controlled by good sense. It is. quite common in 
children, and if allowed to continue without restraint it often 
becomes a habit of such strength that its possessor is unable 
to give an accurate account of anything. Such people are 
usually dubbed "professional liars," and their statements 
are never believed unless verified through other sources. 
Unfortunately, every community usually has one or more 
members who are forcible illustrations of what the practice 
of exaggeration leads to. Pupils who are inclined to exag- 
geration should be warned to think before they make state- 
ments; if the statements are incorrect, ask the pupil to verify 
what he has said, by observation, or by consulting books, 
or by asking those who are older and who from experience 
can give the exact facts. Show the folly of such misstate- 
ments and that they are of little value, if not entirely 
worthless. Create a sentiment against them and occasion- 
ally let those who are persistently careless be laughed out 
of court. 

(c) Prevarication. The original meaning of the word 
prevaricate is to straddle. The prevaricator is one who dodges 
the question, hoping thereby to escape the consequences of 
his connection with the matter in hand. It is only another 
form of deception and is usually due to fear, or to the persons' 
high estimate of his own shrewdness. It is only another 
form of lying, and should be treated in the same manner. 
People have but little confidence in or use for those who 



274 Public School Methods 

are not willing to face the consequences of their own acts. 
Lead the pupils to see that the prevaricator is no more 
esteemed in society than the liar, and you will start a train 
of influences that will tend to break up this practice in your 
school. 

(d) Slander. Slander is without question the worst 
form of falsehood, since it has for its object the injury of 
another. We have already referred to this briefly, but it is 
of such importance that it demands further attention. In 
almost every school there are cliques, particularly among 
girls, the chief business of whose members is to tell what they 
have heard to the discredit of someone outside their circle. 
By taking the matter in hand early in the term, the teacher 
can frequently prevent this practice by giving the pupils . 
something of interest to occupy their thoughts and time out 
of school hours. 

You cannot emphasize too strongly the baneful influence 
of gossip, which soon degenerates into slander. Whatever 
one is tempted to tell about another should first be subjected 
to the following tests: First, do you know from personal 
knowledge that what you are to tell is true? Second, if true, 
will telling it do you or the one to whom it is told any good? 
Third, will what you are about to say injure the person 
about whom it is told? If all tale-bearing were thoughtfully 
subjected to these tests, it is safe to say that the most of the 
slander now so thoughtlessly uttered would never be heard. 

Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis some- 
thing, nothing; 

But he that filches from me my good name 
Robs me of that which not enriches him, 
And makes me poor indeed.' 

He who saves another's character is a greater benefactor than 
he who saves his life.^ 

28. Honesty. Honesty and truthfulness are inseparable. 
To lie is dishonest; if one's word cannot be taken, one cannot 



1 Shakespeare: Othello. 

2 Horace Mann. 



Moral Training 275 

be trusted in other things. The most flagrant forms of dis- 
honesty are usually known to the pupils, and will need but 
little attention. The tendency to deceive in little things 
and the temptations to dishonesty in school work are tlie 
forms of dishonesty that will need special attention. It 
requires many lessons and illustrations to convince some 
children that intellectual honesty is as important and as 
highly valued as honesty in regard to material things. Many 
young people who would never think of taking so much as a 
penny belonging to another will not hesitate to appropriate 
the work that a classmate has done in solving a problem, 
writing an essay or even an examination, and to do this 
without giving the original worker any credit whatever. 
Lack of proper training in the lower grades is doubtless 
responsible to a great extent for this condition. Train pupils 
to realize that any form of deception is dishonest, and that 
honesty has a far broader application than that which restricts 
it to material things. While pupils should be trained to be 
absolutely honest in all their dealings with other people's 
property — that of their schoolmates, the teacher, and the 
school — they must be trained to be just as honest with other 
people's time, reputation and work, as well. The boy who 
engages to work a given number of hours a day for a stated 
wage, and spends a portion of it loafing or at play, or who 
stops work before the end of the day, is dishonest ; the trader 
who gives short weight or measure is dishonest; the one who 
squanders public property, or fails to fulfill his contract in 
doing public work is dishonest ; the one who " drives a sharp 
bargain", knowing all the time that he is receiving more 
than full value for what he gives in exchange, is dishonest, 
even though he may be protected by the law ; and the one who 
tries to injure another's reputation is perhaps the most dis- 
honest of all. These facts should be dwelt upon until they 
become firmly fixed in the minds of the pupils. Above all, 
create in your school a strong sentiment against all forms 
of cheating. The boy who cheats in school will become a 
cheat and a trickster in business. Show by talks, illustrations 



276 Public School Methods 

and stories, the force of Franklin's saying, " Honesty is the 
best policy. " 

Caution. In dealing with such topics as truthfulness and 
honesty you may touch closely upon the traits of some 
pupils who are habitually untruthful and dishonest. Great 
care should be taken to make these talks impersonal, and to 
draw illustrations from such sources that no one's feelings can 
possibly he injured by them. You should also see that the 
other pupils do not mistreat those who are so unfortunate as 
to have these habits fastened upon them. Such children 
should be treated kindly and helped to overcome these habits. 

29. Industry. Persistent, hard work is necessary not 
only to the accompHshment of the school tasks but also to 
the development of character. Children should be trained 
to do things because the doing of them is right, and because 
it is necessary to the welfare of the child or someone else. 
Play has its place, and an important place it is, in the life 
and work of the school, but work should not be turned into 
play, and the distinction between the two should be carefully 
drawn. Most children enjoy work as well as play, provided 
the tasks assigned appeal to their interests and are within 
their ability. In a school where the work is properly planned 
there is little evidence of idleness. Again, industry is the 
best means of discipline. So long as the pupils are kept busy 
on the regular work of the school, they find no time for other 
things ; once allow them to become idle, they fall into mischief. 

Training pupils to industry in school is not difficult, but 
placing them in a right attitude towards labor in general is 
a different task. The tendency to look down on those who 
work with their hands is altogether too prevalent, and is 
wholly vicious in its influence. Children need to learn and 
to feel the dignity of labor. It is only through labor that the 
work of the woild is accomplished. It is through labor that 
we are supplied with food, clothing, shelter and all other 
things necessary to our comfort and happiness. Labor is 
essential to life. All living things — plants, animals, birds, 
insects — work incessantly that they may live. Give numer- 



Moral Training 277 

ous illustrations of this, drawing them from your immediate 
surroundings. In the last analysis, the men and women who 
work constitute the backbone of our social and political 
life, and it is an honor to belong to this great army of 
workers. 

Through lessons on industry much can be done to link 
the school with the home. As soon as they are old enough, 
children should be assigned tasks in the home, and should be 
held responsible for the daily performance of these duties. 
In many homes, however, this is not done, and the children 
grow up without any sense of responsibility concerning the 
household. The old New England home, in which every 
member had his round of duties, from the performance of 
which only illness would excuse him, was one of the most 
powerful forces in character building the country has ever 
known, and its passing is much to be regretted. 

A special exercise on Labor Day may be used to introduce 
lessons on industry. With these exercises as a foundation, 
talks, illustrations, stories and selections for memorizing 
can be used from time to time to keep the thought before 
the pupils throughout the year. 

There is an ethical value in activity. "An idle brain is the 
devil's workshop" is not only a true saying, but a truism. While an 
active child may become a doer of evil, his chances of such an out- 
come are not one per cent of those of the lazy, idle boy, whose life 
is a ready prey for the invasions of the infesting vermin of immorality. 
There is hope for the active man; for activity is the essential principle 
of Hfe.i 

30. Conduct. All children like to be considered ladies 
and gentlemen, and if treated as such they usually respond 
with hke treatment. Young people often place themselves in 
awkward, if not unpleasant positions, because they do not 
know what to do, therefore lessons on politeness in public 
places are not only helpful, but desirable. Teach children 
what becomes one who is well bred and the lessons will be 
ot value to them thr ough life. 'If you are well bred — 

1 Preston W. Search. 



278 Public School Methods 

(i) You will be kind. 

{2) You will not use slang. 

(3) You will try to make others happy. 

(4) You will not be shy or self-conscious. 

(5) You will never indulge in ill-natured gossip. 

(6) You will never forget the respect due to age. 

(7) You will not swagger or boast of your achievements. 

(8) You will think of others before you think of yourself. 

(9) You will be scrupulous in your regard for the rights 
of others. 

(10) You will not measure your civility by people's bank 
accounts. 

(11) You will not forget engagements, promises, or 
obligations of any kind. 

(12) In conversation you will not be argumentative or 
contradictory. 

(13) You will never make fun of the peculiarities or 
idiosyncrasies of others. 

(14) You will not bore people by constantly talking of 
yourself and your affairs. 

(15) You will never under any circumstance cause another 
pain, if you can help it. 

(16) You will not think that " good intentions " compensate 
for rude or gruff manners. 

(17) You will be as agreeable to your social inferiors as 
to your equals and superiors. 

(18) You will not sulk or feel neglected if others receive 
more attention than you do. 

(19) You will not have two sets of manners — one for 
"company" and one for home use. 

(20) You will never remind a cripple of his deformity, 
or probe the sore spots of a sensitive soul.* 

To these, add that it is rude — 

To attract attention by loud talking or laughter in public 
places. 

To be impolite to public servants, such as trainmen, street 

1 These twenty precepts are taken from Success Magazine. 



Moral Training 279 

car conductors, and others whose duty it is to look after the 
welfare of those who travel. 

To occupy more space than necessary in a public convey- 
ance when others are standing. 

To dress in such a manner as to attract attention. 

To annoy others by whispering or talking in public assem- 
blies. 

31. Self-ControL "He that ruleth his spirit" is better 
"than he that taketh a city." We have already seen that 
in childhood and early youth the emotions are in the ascen- 
dency, while the will and the reason are slowly assuming their 
sway. It is not, therefore, unusual for children to become 
angry on slight provocation, or to give way to grief for what 
seems to us to be trivial causes. Nevertheless, these causes 
are to the child all-powerful. Break the little girl's doll and 
the world breaks up with it; lose the boy's ball and to him 
the world is lost. The teacher should take cognizance of 
these conditions, and so far as possible prevent these outburts 
of passion, for every time the child gives way to anger or 
grief he strengthens the tendency to do so again. Prevention, 
therefore, should be used more than positive instruction in the 
primary grades. As the children advance, however, they 
should be encouraged and helped to exercise self-control. 
As pupils are able to understand the meaning of the term, 
its application should be broadened until it is understood 
that complete self-control is that which controls the thought 
that is back of the act. It is not only necessary that the boy 
control his impulse to hit his fellow, but that he control the 
thought back of the impulse. 

Show that self-control often calls for the highest kind of 
courage; that only men of self-control are of use in great 
emergencies; that the best men and women with whom the 
pupils are acquainted are those who are able to control their 
actions on all occasions. Ask pupils always to think before 
they act upon impulse; to strive to emulate such men as 
Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and hosts of others whose self- 
control was one of their leading characteristics. 



280 Public ScJiool Methods 

32. Love of Country. The State maintains public schools 
to educate for citizenship. Stories of the boyhood of great 
men, of the adventures of early pioneers, and of the customs 
and manners of the eaily settlers in this country, together 
with their trials and hardships, should begin in the last half 
of the first year and continue until the pupils are ready to 
take up the study of history. In addition to these, have the 
second and third grades memorize short selections expiessing 
patriotic sentiments, and teach America, Keller's American 
Hymn and Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean. More difficult 
songs will be added, of course, in the more advanced grades. 
In these grades, also, the sacredness of the ballot, one's duty 
to vote, and honesty in public affairs should be strongly 
emphasized. Much of this work will naturally be done in 
connection with the work in history and civil government. 

33. Pupil Government. The ultimate end of all govern- 
ment and moral training is to make the child a law unto him- 
self. Forbush tells us that boys are divided into two classes, 
"the you-must boys and the I-must boys." To develop 
within youth a quick and sensitive conscience, and to establish 
habits of right action, so that the conscience will be a monitor 
that will always be obeyed, is the most important work of 
the school. The development of the feeling of responsibility 
is recognized to be of such importance in building character 
that numerous plans have been perfected for placing the 
government of the school in the hands of the pupils. In 
some of these plans the third grade is included, while in others 
the plan is confined to the higher grades. In no system 
does it include the first and second grades. It is claimed 
for these plans that they throw the pupil upon his own 
responsibility, and at the same time give him a most practical 
training in citizenship. Among the most effective of these 
plans are the School City and the George Junior Republic, 
estabhshed at Freeville, N. Y., in 1895, by Mr. William R. 
George; and the Citizen and Tribune plan originated by 
Principal John T. Ray, of the Ryerson School, Chicago. 
This latter plan, instituted by Mr. Ray as an experiment, 



Moral Training 281 

has proved so successful that it has been adopted by numerous 
other schools. It was recently adopted by the Board of 
Superintendents of Greater New York, and within ten years 
from the time of its adoption it was in use in schools whose 
combined enrollment exceeded 350,000. It may be used 
with success in any school, provided the teacher has tact and 
patience, and wherever it is used it is found to be one of the 
best means for developing character in the pupils. The 
following extract from an article by Mr. Ray, in School and 
Home Education, gives a concise outline of the plan and states 
the benefits derived from it : 

In the first place, the plan should not be considered as a plan of 
"'pupil government." The schools using it are still under the direct 
control of the teacher and principal, especially in the laying down 
of rules and regulations for the school and in the administration 
of all penalties and punishments for disobedience or wrong conduct 
that tends to thwart the purpose of the school or the rights of indi- 
vidual members. 

What, then, it may be asked by some, is there left for the pupils 
to do in the way of government of the school? 

The pupils are charged with the general movements of the pupils 
in and about the school outside of the teacher's classroom. They are 
taught to see that the rules and regulations are enforced, and that 
the rights of every pupil in and about the building are respected. 
They are taught that this enforcement is not only their duty, but that 
it is to their general welfare and interest to do it, just as in later life 
it is the duty of every good citizen to see that law and order, 
honesty, and square dealing aie the general practice of the community 
in which they live. They are taught how to do this along three 
distinct lines : 

First. They exercise personal self-control without being watched. 
Their conduct out of the presence of the teacher must be as exemplary 
as in her presence. 

Second. The pupils are taught that they have a public duty to 
the school as a whole, and that personal right conduct is not all, but 
that they must actively exercise — the same as the teacher is expected 
to do — an influence for right over their fellow pupils. They are 
taught that no good citizen of a school, any more than of the adult 
community, is doing his full duty if he becomes an idle looker-on at 
misconduct in others that affects the welfare of all. 

Third. They are taught how to organize, and, by the authority 
of their elected officers, tribunes and marshals, control the wayward 



282 Public School Methods 

and thoughtless, who are always only a small minority. The pupils 
have long since discovered that it is to their interest and welfare to 
do this. It is the business of the teacher to show them how this 
may be done. The following results show clearly in the general 
condition of the school : 

(i) Pupils have learned that if they create a sentiment in the 
school for right conduct but very few will fail to respect that sentiment. 
These, if they will not submit to the mild influence and admonition 
of the school officers, backed by the majority who demand it, are 
dealt with by the teachers, and are isolated from association with 
their fellow pupils whose rights they refuse to respect. 

(2) They have uprooted from the school the old and pernicious 
idea that pupils should hide from their teacher all misdeeds. They 
see clearly that it is the right and honorable thing to see that wrong 
acts are exposed, alike for the good of the offending individual, the 
general welfare of the school, and their own personal welfare. In 
other words, they have learned the distinction between idle "tattling" 
and a manly exposure of misconduct for the purpose of correcting it. 

(3) The habit of sly, mischievous and disturbing tricks when not 
observed by the teacher has practically disappeared, for the reason 
that the disapproval of their fellow pupils is sure to make itself 
manifest, and exposure will follow. 

(4) Fighting, nagging and annoying other pupils who are timid 
or smaller has been entirely stopped^ The older pupils take a pride 
in performing this duty voluntarily, and the presence of the school 
officers everywhere affords the means of at once stopping it. A fight 
or the encouragement of a fight has not occurred about the school in 
several years. 

(5) Cheating and wilful misrepresentation in connection with 
school work is driven out of every grammar room in the building by 
the pupils themselves, who act through their tribunes in quietly 
warning the offender to desist or exposure will follow. 

(6) The pupils of a room have, as a rule, acquired the habit of 
going on with the work of the room as promptly and properly when the 
teacher is absent as they would if she were present. In other words, 
during the school hours the room is constantly organized for work and 
orderly procedure, it being the duty of one of the two tribunes to 
either take charge, or appoint some one to take charge, when the 
teacher is absent or out of the room temporarily. This is quite as 
true of the conduct of a first or second grade as of the highest. It 
has become a habit of the pupils throughout the school. 

(7) They have learned the act of careful and thoughtful selection 
of competent, discreet tribunes. When they find such a boy or girl, 
he or she is re-elected, often several months in succession. The 



Moral Training 283 

pupils as a whole respect the wishes and suggestions of the tribune, 
and, except by new pupils transferred from other schools, the tribunes 
are treated with as much respect as are the teachers of the school. 

(8) It has been found that the tribunes, acting through the mar- 
shals they appoint, can as efficiently and quietly regulate the passage 
of the pupils on the stairs, the forming of the lines, and the general 
deportment and conduct on the playgrounds and in the basement 
as did the teachers when they were required to do these hall, basement 
and playground duties. 

(9) The public installation of the tribunes each month and the 
formal recognition by the teachers of satisfactory conduct and good 
influence of individual pupils, has a very salutary effect. To be 
made a "citizen" of the room and school by the teachers, and the 
formal presentation of a "citizen pin,'' is the ambition of most pupils, 
and in the lower grades especially it is a powerful incentive. No more 
severe penalty can be put upon a child than to say to him, "By your 
lack of self-control and proper influence for right you are no longer 
worthy of wearing that pin. " The child, as a rule, tries to so conduct 
himself as to be worthy of having it restored to him at the end of the 
month. 

(10) The lifting from the shoulders of the teachers the unpleasant 
duties of standing guard on the stairs eight times a day, and of doing 
hall, basement and playground duties at morning, noon, and recess, 
summer and winter, is one of the pleasurable, direct benefits to the 
teacher, and hence to the school. Her health is preserved and her 
energies conserved for the legitimate duties of the schoolroom. The 
government during the school hours is much less a burden. The 
teacher gets the same relaxation, rest and liberty at morning, noon 
and recess as do the pupils, and comes to her work in the schoolroom 
rested and refreshed as much as the pupils. 

In conclusion let me say, let no teacher feel that there is a chance 
to throw off unpleasant duties. There must be only a change from 
that of doing police duty to that of daily guiding, directing and 
teaching the pupils how to conduct themselves and to control others. 
There come to the teacher new duties that she must study and learn 
how to skilfully execute. The teacher who thinks that this or any 
other plan of self-government can be instituted without careful study 
and forethought and a high determination to teach her pupils how to 
be self-controlling, law-abiding, law-enforcing members of the school, 
had better never undertake the task. 

34. Aids. The following books will be helpful to teachers: 

Character Building. Marion George. 2 volumes. A. Flanagan 
Company, Chicago. This work is replete with subjects for morning 



284 Public School Methods 

talks, stories, maxims, and selections for memorizing, and is well- 
nigh indispensable to the teacher who wishes to give special exercises 
in moral training. 

The Young Folks Book of Etiquette. A. Flanagan Company, 
Chicago. 

The Boy Problem. Forbush. Pilgrim Press. Boston-Chicago. 

Moral Training in the Public Schools. Ginn & Co., Chicago. 

Pupil Government. John T. Ray, Ryerson School, Chicago. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

1. Why do the home conditions of today differ so widely 
from those in the days of our forefathers ? Show why this is 
an argument in favor of introducing moral training into the 
schools. 

2. Show specifically how the story of The Ugly Duckling 
or The Lion and the Mouse contributes to the moral training 
of the pupils. 

3. In general, what plan for moral training should be used 
in the first grade? Give reasons for your answer. 

4. Show how the teacher is an important factor in moral 
training. 

5. Do you consider Mr. Ray's plan of government peda- 
gogically sound ? Give reasons for your answer. 

6. Show how you would impress upon the pupils of a third 
grade the fact that moral courage is greater and more to be 
desired than physical courage. 

7. Can you form any societies in your school that will assist 
in the moral training of their members? If so, name them 
and state how you would proceed to form the organizations. 

8. Show how the condition of the schoolhouse and grounds 
and the condition of the schoolroom help or hinder in the for- 
mation of character. 

9. Give an outline of a talk on Honesty which you would 
give to a third grade class. 

10. Name at least ten topics on character building suitable 
for morning talks to a third grade. 



LESSON TWENTY 

THE SCHOOL AND ITS ENVIRONMENT 

1. Introduction. No period of the child's life is more 
important than the first few years in school. During this 
time the impress he receives affects his entire futtire, and 
what this impress shall be depends more upon the teacher 
than upon all other influences in his school life. The responsi- 
bility thrust upon the primary teacher is such as to demand 
the best she can give, and in order to meet this responsibility 
a thorough preparation for her work is necessary. 

In the physical world, whenever growth ceases, dissolu- 
tion and death follow, and this is equally true in the realm 
of mind. Having the attitude and spirit of a learner brings 
every teacher into closer sympathy with her pupils, and 
for this reason, if for no other, the sympathetic pursuit of 
some subject is always desirable. Moreover, the teacher 
needs to grow continually, that she may be able to meet 
the obligations constantly imposed upon her. School rela- 
tions are daily becoming more complex; new subjects are 
being added to the course of study; methods and devices 
are being multiplied, and the number of different text-books 
on the various branches is confusing. With all new sub- 
jects, new devices and new text-books, the teacher must 
have more than a passing acquaintance, or she will soon 
fall behind her more progressive rivals. 

Through complex conditions and increasing difficulties 
the teacher must see clearly her way. She must be able 
in the shortest time to secure the best possible results. In 
order to do this she needs to know the educational value of 
each branch to be taught, and she must understand that 
all subjects are taught in accordance with well-defined funda- 
mental laws. They are therefore taught alike, the apparent 
differences being due to the devices necessary to secure the 
application of these laws to the various subjects. The induc- 
285 



286 Public School Methods 

tive method of teaching geometry and the observational 
method employed in nature study in a primary grade follow 
the same laws; the apparent difference in method is in the 
subjects to which these laws are applied. When the teacher 
comprehends this truth, she ceases to be an imitator and 
throws her personality into her work. 

All the preceding lessons emphasize this great principle 
of teaching. They assume that the student possesses a 
thorough knowledge of the branches to which the lessons 
apply, and they discuss the application of the laws of child 
psychology to the teaching of these branches. 

2. The Problem. When a teacher has secured her posi- 
tion, the situation resolves itself into a problem somewhat 
like an example in mathematics, inasmuch as its solution 
depends upon answering these three fundamental questions: 
(i) What is given? (2) What is required? (3) What are 
the best methods to employ in order to secure the desired 
results ? 

The factors involved are the schoolhouse and grounds, 
the school furniture, the pupils, the patrons, the school 
authorities and the teacher. The requirements are that the 
teacher, with the conditions under which she must work, 
train the pupils given her in accordance with the require- 
ments in the course of study; and that she do this in such 
a manner that their lives will be brightened and the founda- 
tions of right character will be laid. 

The lessons in this work are devoted to the answer of 
the third question. What are the best methods to employ? 

3. The Schoolhouse. Teachers seldom have any voice 
in the location and plan of the schoolhouse; and in graded 
schools, the general care of the building devolves upon the 
principal. In one- and two-room buildings, however, the 
teacher is responsible for the proper care and management 
of the building, and she is responsible always for the care 
of her own room. This does not mean that she is to do 
the janitor work, but it does mean that she should hold 
those who care for the room responsible for keeping it clean; 



The School and its Environment 287 

and also that she should so arrange the furniture and decora- 
tions as to make the room as convenient and attractive as 
possible. In doing this, there are a number of matters to 
consider. These are (a) seats, (b) heating apparatus, (c) 
ventilation, (d) lighting and (e) general condition. , 

(a) Seats. The proper seating of a schoolroom includes 
the selection of seats which are in size adapted to the size 
of the pupils. In rooms having more than one grade, there 
should be at least three sizes of seats, and in others two 
sizes. If the teacher finds a room so seated, the pupils can 
usually be properly located without much difficulty. But 
satisfactory conditions are not always found in country 
schoolhouses or in the school buildings of small towns. 

In assigning a seat to a pupil, two things should be con- 
sidered — the height of the seat and the height of the desk. 
The seat should be of such height as to allow the feet to 
rest naturally upon the floor, and the desk should be of a 
height that allows the book to be at least eleven or twelve 
inches from the eye. For larger children fourteen inches 
is a better height. The height of the desk is as important 
as the height of the seat, for if the book comes too near the 
eye its continuous use in this position is liable to cause the 
pupil to become near-sighted. 

Seats of the same size should be set one behind another, 
in the same rows. The mistake is occasionally made of 
placing the higher seats in the rear, and the lower ones in 
front, in each row. This arrangement is defective, because, 
when the small seat is placed in front of the large one, it 
either brings the seat too high or the desk too low for the 
pupil occupying it. If the defects are serious, the teacher 
should try to secure a resetting of the seats so as to place 
those of the same size in the same row. This can usually 
be secured when the proper authorities — principal or school 
officials — are thoroughly convinced of its necessity. If a 
portion of the seats are of an adjustable pattern, this usually 
enables the teacher to seat all pupils so they will be com- 
fortable, without rearranging the seats. 



288 Public School Methods 

It is not always possible to seat the pupils so that all 
will be located in seats of the proper size. When the seats 
are so high that the children's feet do not touch the floor, 
the difficulty can be remedied by the use of foot-rests, which 
may be made of small boxes covered with carpeting or some 
other material, to prevent noise if they are moved upon 
the floor; where several seats in a row are too high for the 
pupils, a board nailed upon joists to make it of the proper 
height may be extended under them all. Oftentimes a 
piece of two-by-four will answer all purposes. The ingenious 
teacher will discover inexpensive and effective devices for 
making her pupils comfortable. 

Cautions, (i) In addition to adjusting the seats to the 
children, two other conditions should be borne in mind in 
seating the school. Children who are defective in sight or 
hearing should be seated near the front of the room, where 
it is easy for them to hear the teacher and see the black- 
board. 

(2) Children thinly clad, or whose physical condition is 
such as to demand a higher temperature than the average, 
should be placed in the warmer parts of the room. 

(b) Heating Apparatus. All large school buildings are 
heated by steam or by furnaces which are under the direct 
management of a janitor, but the teacher may be directly 
responsible for the management of the heating apparatus 
in small buildings, whether heated by a furnace or by a 
stove. A comfortable and even temperature is essential to 
the successful working of the school, and, whatever the plan 
for heating, it is the teacher's duty to see that such a tem- 
perature is maintained. The temperature of the room 
should not be allowed to fall below 65°, nor to rise above 
70°. Reliable thermometers should be placed in different 
parts of the room, and they should be read at frequent 
intervals. If a stove is used, it should be enclosed in a 
jacket. If there is no jacket, a screen of galvanized or sheet 
iron should be placed so that it will protect the pupils sitting 
near the stove from excessive heat. 



13 

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The School and its Environment 289 

Caution. In well-constructed schoolhouses, the halls and 
cloakrooms are warmed. In buildings where the cloak- 
rooms are not heated in cold weather, the children's wraps 
should be brought into the schoolroom at dismissal and 
put on there instead of in the cloakrooms. This need not 
cause confusion, nor create a spirit of disorder. 

(c) Ventilation. Warming and ventilation are so 
intimately associated that the teacher needs to study them 
together. The ventilation of most schoolrooms is a diffi- 
cult matter, because proper ventilating appliances are not 
provided. It is essential that the schoolroom be supplied 
with an abundance of fresh air heated to the proper tem- 
perature. Failure to secure this result leads to restlessness 
and inattention on the part of the pupils and prevents satis- 
factory work by the teacher. 

The heating and ventilating apparatus in a large school 
building constitute a unit, and must of necessity be imder 
the direct management of one person. In such buildings 
it is the teacher's duty to notify the one in charge of the 
apparatus if her room is not properly warmed or ventilated. 
Opening doors or windows in one room may so change air 
currents within the building as to interfere seriously with 
heating and ventilating other rooms; therefore, the teachers 
should not assume this responsibility. 

The best means of ventilating a schoolhouse heated by 
stoves is by a jacket around the stove. This device con- 
sists of an ordinary stove surrounded with a sheet-iron, 
tin or zinc jacket, which comes within a few inches of the 
stove, is open at the top, extends to the floor and fits closely 
up to the stove near the door so that it is left free for putting 
in fuel. Immediately under the stove is a hole leading to 
a fresh-air duct which leads beneath the floor to the open 
air. As the air within the jacket becomes heated, it is driven 
out at the top and is replaced by fresh air coming in through 
the duct under the door. When the heated air reaches the 
top of the room it flows in all directions, gradually settling 
to the floor as it comes in contact with the walls. An escape 



290 Public School Methods 

for foul air placed near the floor in the chimney, which 
should extend to the groimd in this case, provides for a 
complete circulation, and with this device an equal tem- 
perature can be maintained in all parts of the room and 
an abimdance of fresh air is always supplied. This device 
is not expensive and is wholly successful. Its installment 
more than pays its cost in the prevention of drafts and 
saving of time which otherwise must be taken for airing 
the room at frequent intervals. 

If the room is warmed by an ordinary stove, the most 
successful and at the same time inexpensive device for 
ventilating is a board about eight inches wide, so set at the 
bottom of the window casing that it will fit tightly and be 
about one inch from the sash. When a board is so placed 
and the window is raised, the air entering from outside strikes 
against the board and is given an upward direction so that 
it does not fall upon the heads of the pupils. By fitting two 
or three windows on each side of the room with this appli- 
ance, the air can be kept in a very satisfactory condition. 
It should be borne in mind that it is as necessary to secure 
the escape of foul air as it is to secure the entrance of fresh 
air. The open stove door, when the room is sufficiently 
warm to admit of it, enables a large quantity of impure air 
to escape, the draft from the chimney causing a strong 
current to pass through the opening. 

(d) Points to Remember. (i) A basin filled with 
water should be kept upon the stove whenever there is a 
fire in it, to keep the air from becoming dry. Furnaces 
have water pans for the same purpose, and these should 
be kept filled. 

(2) If the system of ventilation is by placing boards 
in the windows, care should be taken not to open the windows 
on the windward side of the building; that is, if a north 
wind is blowing, the windows on the north side of the build- 
ing should not be opened; if a west wind is blowing, the 
windows on the west side should not be opened. 

(3) Whatever system of ventilation is employed, the 



The School and its Environmeut 291 

windows should be opened and the room thoroughly aired 
at recess, at noon, and at night after school is dismissed. 

(4) Study whatever system of heating and ventilation 
is provided, tmtil you are familiar with its mechanism and 
workings; then you will be able to use it intelligently. 

(e) Lighting. When possible, the light should come 
from windows behind and at the left side of the pupils. In 
case opposite windows cannot be avoided, the light should 
be regulated by shades of a light olive green color, adjusted 
so as to prevent either strong sunshine or heavy shadows 
from falling upon the work or into the eyes of the pupils. 
Holland is the best material for shades. The best adjust- 
ment is that employed in business offices, allowing the shade 
to be raised from the bottom or lowered from the top, as 
desired. Shades of good quality and of the right color, 
gray, green or olive, should be procured, made to fit the 
windows exactly, and then cared for as zealously as those 
in a fine parlor. 

Caution. Shades made of narrow, parallel slats are not 
desirable, but, in case they have been placed in the school- 
room, their injurious effect can be greatly remedied by the use 
of plain white curtains between the shade and the window, or 
even by the use of papers placed over them in such position as 
to prevent rays of sunlight from falling directly upon the 
desks. Yellow shades are not as injurious as those made of 
slats, yet the Hght admitted through them strains the eye. 

(f) Condition of the Building. Before the opening 
of school, the teacher should make a careful examination 
of such part of the school premises as is to come under her 
immediate care, and she should see that everything is in 
order. If you are teaching in a building under the care of 
a principal, your oversight will include your room only. 
Whatever personal touches you wish to add, in the way of 
small decorations and arrangement of furniture, should be 
made at this time. 

If teaching in a one- or two-room building, the responsi- 
bility and care of the entire building and the school grounds 



!292 Public School Methods 

may rest upon you. In this case your inspection should 
include the building, grounds and outbuildings. The build- 
ing and outhouses should be thoroughly cleaned and put 
in perfect repair before the beginning of school. The groimds 
should also receive attention, and be made as neat and 
attractive as possible. An attractive building and grounds 
and a neat and tastefully decorated schoolroom make a 
pleasing impression on the pupils and also compel their 
respect for the school and its siurroundings. All the time 
and effort that are spent upon securing favorable condi- 
tions of this nature contribute directly to the good discipline 
of the school and surround the children with right influences. 

Caution. Many districts in small towns, and even in 
cities, have little or no money to spend upon decorations or 
furniture; when your lot is cast in one of these districts you 
should accept the situation cheerfully and do the best you 
can with the means at your disposal. You can often secure 
very material assistance from patrons who are interested in 
the welfare of the school. In some commimities indifference 
may have led to neglect of the school premises, and it may 
require a good deal of patient persistence to secure much 
needed repairs; but if you are able to convince the proper 
authorities that these are necessary, and if you secure the 
cooperation of some of the most influential patrons of the 
school, in due time you will obtain what is needed. 

4. The School Furniture. In addition to the seats for 
pupils, the furniture of the room should include a desk and 
chairs for the teacher; settees, or other provision for recita- 
tion purposes; a long table for construction and number 
work; such charts as the work of the grade requires; a 
dictionary; a closet for books, apparatus and specimens; a 
sand box; erasers and pointer, and such other conveniences 
as may be necessary for the work required. These will vary 
in different localities. 

Somewhere in the building there should be one or more 
lavatories provided, even though they are furnished only 
with a plain bench and a common wash basin. These simple 



The School and its Environment 293 

lavatories should have one pail for clean water and another 
for the dirty water. Whenever the building will permit, 
there should be a lavatory for the boys and one for the 
girls. In large buildings, these conveniences are usually 
placed in the basement, and are cared for by the janitor. 
In small buildings they usually come under the direct super- 
vision of the teacher, who should see that they are kept 
clean. A supply of towels for general use should be fur- 
nished by the school. It is also well for each pupil to brmg 
a towel from home to use in case of emergency. Each pupil 
should also have his own drinking cup. 

Every school should have an abundant supply of good 
drinking water. In some locaHties the source of supply is 
so far from the building that water must be brought in 
pails. Water should not be allowed to stand in pails made 
of tin or galvanized iron, because small portions of the metal 
dissolve in the water and render it unwholesome. Where 
water has to be brought to the schoolhouse in this way, 
an earthen crock, a wooden pail or one made of papier mache 
should be used as a receptacle. 

(a) The Work Table. The work table should be eight 
or ten feet long and three feet wide, and of such height that 
pupils can work upon it conveniently when standing. For 
first grades this should not exceed thirty inches; for second 
and third grades it may be a little higher. The top should 
be finished with an inch guard around the edge, to prevent 
small pieces of apparatus from rolling to the floor. 

(b) The Sand Box. A zinc-lined box, or one of seasoned, 
painted wood, to hold clean white sand should also be con- 
sidered a necessity for primary and intermediate grades. 
A box four feet long by two feet wide and about eight inches 
deep is of a desirable size. It should be placed upon strong 
supports of a height most convenient for the pupils who are 
to use it. This box is a wonderful help in the early study 
of elementary geography. 

(c) The Blackboard. Blackboards should be much greater 
in extent than is often thought necessary ; in fact, they should 



294 Public School Methods 

fill all the space between windows and doors around the 
room, reaching high enough to be convenient for the teacher, 
and low enough for the youngest pupil to use without incon- 
venience. For first and second grades they should come 
within eighteen inches of the floor. These boards should 
be of excellent quaUty (green in color, rather than black) 
and always finished at the bottom with a receiver for the 
crayon dust. This receiver should be about four inches 
wide, with an inch guard at the edge. 

Cautions, (i) Boards should never be finished with a 
polished, shining surface, and it should be remembered that 
the board surface between windows is in a position very 
trying to the eyes. 

(2) Janitors and children should be taught to clean 
boards in a way not to fill the room with dust. Erasers 
must be kept clean, and when used should be drav/n from 
the top downward. 

(3) The chalk receiver should be wiped out every night, 
and all the erasers should be thoroughly cleaned at least 
once each day. 

5. The School Grounds. The best school grounds are 
spacious, allowing for a generous undivided yard in front, 
and for playgrounds in the rear of the schoolhouse. When 
necessary, they should be surrounded by a well-kept fence 
with a turnstile or some other convenient arrangement that 
permits entrance and exit by pupils, but excludes wander- 
ing animals. A row of shade trees along the fence, a few 
ornamental shrubs and some flowers planted around the 
trees, will go far towards making the school attractive and 
a source of pride to the pupils, their parents and friends. 
The best flowers to use for school yards are such as bloom 
freely and do not require much care beyond the daily water- 
ing. Among the best are sweet peas, nasturtiums, asters 
and phlox. These will give color and beauty to the school 
yard and furnish daily bouquets from early June until heavy 
frosts come. 

The shrubs used should be hardy ones that blossom 



The School mid Its Environment 295 

early and freely, of which the lilac and snowball are good 
examples. Not many shrubs will be needed. It is better 
to give up most of the space to grass and keep it in good 
condition by having it cut and watered frequently. 

If there is a school garden, a plot of ground should be 
set apart for the pupils of the primary grades, and they 
should cultivate this in common, under the teacher's super- 
vision. 

If out-of-door closets are a necessity, two should be 
entirely separate, as far apart as possible and opening away 
from each other at the rear of the school lot, with a separate 
walk to each. These outbuildings should be made as well 
as if for the best private families, and, by the unceasing 
vigilance of the teacher and her helpers, kept absolutely 
clean and free from markings or cuttings. If the buildings 
are whitewashed often and marks removed as soon as dis- 
covered, public sentiment among the pupils will soon demand 
neatness. 

If climbing vines, such as woodbine or ivy, are planted 
around these buildings, they are soon covered with verdure, 
which during the summer presents a much more pleasing 
appearance than the bare structures. 

The rear yards should be real playgrounds, and the chil- 
dren should be encouraged to play heartily there, except in 
very inclement weather. The grounds should be under the 
constant supervision of the teacher, who should be there 
to join in the play, inventing and teaching new games, 
directing old ones, entering heartily into all the exercise 
and fim, and yet preventing quarrels and accidents by a 
kindly watchfuhiess over all. A spirit of hearty good-fellow- 
ship should be instilled into the play time, and dangerous 
games should be ruled off the list. 

Cautions, (i) Do not v/ater the trees, grass and flowers 
while the sun is shining hot upon them. 

(2) Do not disgrace the lawn by having any forbidding 
signs erected thereon, but create a pride in the children as 
to its appearance by training them with your own guidance 



296 Public School Methods 

and assistance to care for it personally. What the children 
really . care for, the citizens will respect, and trespassing 
will soon cease. 

(3) Daily inspection, to see that paths are kept clear 
and that everything is neat, is a necessity, even when a 
regular janitor is employed. 

(4) Children must be taught to respect and care for 
the school premises and school property as positively as 
they would be in the most refined homes. 

(5) The pride of the pupils is easily roused to prevent 
littering the yards with papers, bits of food or other unde- 
sirable things. Thoughtlessness will be the rule and will 
be hard to overcome ; but there will be little, if any, malicious 
harm done by primary children. Unfailing patience, tact 
and a good-natured firmness will accomplish everything, if 
the teacher remembers that time is needed for the growth 
of good habits as well as for the growth of trees. 

(6) In this effort to make good citizens, eHminate the 
prohibitory "Don't!" Substitute a smiling "Please do," 
and note the good effect it will have. 

(7) The matters discussed in this Section pertain espe- 
cially to the one having charge of the school premises. In 
a graded school this duty devolves upon the principal. The 
teachers, however, are not exempt from watchfulness, or 
from assisting the efforts of the principal in every way they 
can to keep the building and grounds in proper condition. 
Especially should each teacher influence her pupils to care 
for school property with as much solicitude as they would 
exercise in caring for their own homes. 

6. The Patrons. Every teacher needs to know some- 
thing of the family life, habits, customs and occupations of 
the parents of those children who are under her care. More- 
over, it is of great advantage to her to become personally 
acquainted with the parents, but in cities this is often imprac- 
ticable. She can, however, by careful observation and by 
questioning the principal and other teachers who are 
acquainted with the neighborhood, obtain a comprehensive 



The School and its Environment 297 

idea of the home life of her pupils and the general char- 
acteristics of their parents. The knowledge thus obtained 
can be used to excellent advantage in the government and 
instruction of the children, but it should never be retailed 
as gossip with other teachers or in the neighborhood. 

Cautions, (i) When you are settled in your work try 
to be brave and cheerful; avoid discouragements and home- 
sickness by keeping busy, taking brisk exercise in the open 
air and by the daily morning "sponge off" in cold water, 
followed by most vigorous rubbing. 

(2) Never permit yourself to take sides in quarrels nor 
to repeat anything unpleasant that may be told to you. 

(3) Be kindly and courteous to every person you meet, 
and especially so to the poorest patrons of your school, who 
are liable to be supersensitive over their position in life. 

(4) Endear yourself to the entire community by a genuine 
sympathy in their pursuits, by the gentle graces of your 
own life and character, and, last but not least, by doing 
the work for which you are hired with earnestness, interest, 
thoroughness and skill. 

(5) Disarm gossip and adverse criticism by uniform kind- 
ness and a gracious demeanor, and win the respect of the 
people you live among by treating them with unvarying 
consideration and by showing that you respect yourself. 
Give lessons in courtesy and self-control by example rather 
than by precept. 

(6) Lead a blameless life and hold fast to your ideals, 
your trust in God and your faith in your fellow creatures. 
In this way you are sure to get the best help from your 
neighborhood and leave it better than you found it. 

7. The School Officials. In the United States, a board 
of local officials, chosen by popular election, constitutes the 
center of every local school system. This board is given 
different titles in the various states; as, board of education, 
board of trustees, school directors, etc. The teacher's rela- 
tion to this board of control depends very largely upon the 
school system under which she is working. In cities and 



298 Public School Methods 

large towns she has very little to do with the school officials, 
because the principal or superintendent, as the case may 
be, is the official to whom she should apply whenever she 
needs assistance. In rural schools, however, and in village 
schools which have no principal, the teacher should consult 
the school officials for such information, advice and assist- 
ance as she needs at their hands. 

Others in the district may be as competent as they, but 
these are the ones to whom the public has assigned the 
task of watching officially over the school. They have been 
chosen as public counselors for the teacher, to help her by 
advice when difficulties arise, to warn her when hidden 
shoals and quicksands threaten to wreck the frail boat she 
is trying to steer safely through unaccustomed waters; they 
are the ones to whom she may frankly confess her aims and 
her limitations; they are the ones to weigh and consider the 
facts of any troublesome school case and adjudicate with- 
out prejudice. Hence, to them should the teacher turn for 
help in local matters. 

8. The Superintendent. In one way or another, every 
teacher is related to some superintendent. In cities and 
towns it is the local superintendent; in rural districts, the 
county superintendent. The superintendent is the educa- 
tional head of the system of schools tmder his charge, and 
he is usually thoroughly conversant with educational matters. 
He is employed to supervise the work of the teachers, and 
to render them expert service and advice when needed. 
It is his duty to see that the work of the schools is kept up 
to grade; that the prescribed course of study is followed, 
and that the best methods of instruction are employed. 

The function of the board is to look after the material 
welfare of the school. The educational interests are largely 
in the hands of the superintendent. He is the logical adviser 
in all questions relating to the course of study or methods 
of teaching, as well as in management and discipline. Not 
infrequently in towns and small cities the board delegates 
most of its authority to him, and he then becomes their 



The School and its Environment 299 

agent for engaging teachers and for the administration of 
all school affairs. This is not usually true of the county 
superintendent, whose powers are limited by law but are 
sometimes even more comprehensive than those of a city 
superintendent. 

As a matter of self -protection, one of the first things 
to be done by a teacher is to ascertain clearly her relation 
to the superintendent and to learn definitely his powers. 
She is then on firm ground and can easily adjust herself to 
conditions. 

In a small town the superintendent is accessible at 
almost all times and even may be daily in communication 
with the teacher. In such instances they can work together 
to mutual advantage, and the willing and intelHgent sup- 
port of the teacher will receive its reward in cheerful assist- 
ance. Frequently it is true in rural schools that the teacher 
will not see the county superintendent more than once in 
a term, and so may have little opportunity to make his 
acquaintance. But when he does appear his experience 
is such that he is doubtless able to give a great deal of 
assistance, and he is willing to advise in the troublesome 
questions that have arisen. In most cases where he cannot 
be seen, a letter of inquiry receives prompt and cheerful 
attention. 

Usually there are sundry reports required of the teacher, 
and these should always be made out promptly and accu- 
rately and mailed or delivered on the date specified. These 
reports are probably based upon the school registers and 
records, which, it is unnecessary to say, are always to be 
kept accurately and fully. 

Cheerful compliance with the requests of the super- 
intendent, regular attendance upon teachers' meetings when 
they are accessible, and activity in the educational interests 
of the county or city always speak well for the teacher and 
interest the authorities in her success. Much of the reputa- 
tion which leads to advancement in the teacher's profession 
is created in ways of which the beginner is almost uncon- 



300 Public School Methods 

scious. Therefore, whatever care is expended in guarding 
the larger relations of school life will almost certainly be 
rewarded. 

Cautions, (i) Be alert and self-reliant, and within the 
limits of your jurisdiction adjust your own difficulties as 
far as possible. If in doubt about your authority, ask your 
principal or superintendent before proceeding. 

(2) Be careful about taking the time of your principal, 
superintendent or school officials unnecessarily. Make notes 
of things needed from time to time, and when you call upon 
the proper authorities settle as many points as possible at 
one call. 

(3) Give to principals, superintendents and school 
officials the deference and courtesy due to their offices. As 
long as you remain under their supervision, work in har- 
mony. Should this ever become impossible without sacri- 
ficing your self-respect, resign. 

9. The Pupils. If you teach in one of the primary 
rooms in certain sections of Chicago or New York, or any 
large city, you may expect to meet a great variety of nation- 
alities — almost as many, in some instances, as there are 
pupils. Children with all shades of complexion and of hair 
and eyes, children wearing all sorts of clothing and in all 
stages of enlightenment — or of ignorance — and representing 
every sort of temperament known, would be there the first 
morning of the term, awaiting your advent, ready to pro- 
nounce judgment upon you even before you have had time 
to remove your wraps and call the school to order. 

The manifold perils of a great city demand a constant 
alertness, a rapidity of judgment and a knowledge of ways 
and means so unchildlike as to seem positively uncanny. 
On the way to school the city child has railroad and street 
car tracks to cross and meets automobiles, bicycles, carriages, 
drays, equestrians, pedestrians and numberless other dangers 
incident to a crowded thoroughfare to avoid. All these are 
unknown to the country 'child, who takes his way leisurely 
along the road, slowly absorbing the cheery song of the 



The School and its Environment 301 

birds, the beauty of the wayside flowers, the radiance of 
the sky, the purity of the air, with no one to molest or 
make afraid. Teachers located in the small town, in the 
outskirts of a city, or in the country, will be met by boys 
and girls with bright eyes and rosy cheeks, happy in heart 
and face — in short, by natural children, normally developed, 
and not by the half-starved, weazened-faced, prematurely 
old, wholly pathetic little beings that come up in the con- 
gested sections of great cities. 

Childhood is a most perplexing problem, a bundle of 
wondrous possibilities and contradictions, even when unto- 
ward circumstances do not interfere to add unnatural com- 
plications. In every school there will be a great variety 
of temperament, unequal advancement, and differing home 
life for you to grapple with. But for the most part, there 
will be a spirit of friendly welcome to greet you, and eyes 
will look frankly into your own. In some cases the little 
ones will be full of timidity and shyness, but there will be 
no actual fear and no covert slyness. 

In this little human garden there will be very few rank 
weeds to eradicate. You will find the soil clean and adapted 
to the good seed you are to sow therein and nurture into the 
beautiful blossoms of a fine courtesy — into the full fruitage 
of a beautiful character. 

10. The Teacher. Where do you find yourself on this 
first morning of the term? Is your Child Garden located 
among prosperous, native-bom Americans or is it in some 
little, struggling community of foreigners, most of whom 
speak French, Italian, German or some other tongue so 
unfamiliar to your ear that it gives you a homesick thrill 
to hear it? Are the little ones well clothed, clean and tidy, 
or do they bear the unmistakable evidences of poverty and 
gross neglect? Be the locality and environment what they 
may, the Child Garden is ready, and the eager, wondering 
little people are waiting to welcome the new gardener! 

(a) Character. What is the new teacher like? Is she 
smiling or does she frown? Is she prettily dressed or care- 



302 Public School Methods 

lessly clothed, without regard to whether the color and cut 
of her garments are suitable and becoming? Is there a flower 
in her hand or a ferule? Is her hair becomingly dressed or 
untidy and neglected? Are her teeth and finger nails clean 
and well cared for? Is her collar clean and white? Is her 
voice pleasant and well modulated, or strident and irritating? 
Can she laugh, and will she let the children laugh some- 
times? Will she be a lovable friend or a hard task- 
mistress ? 

All these questions, and many more, are vaguely flitting 
through the little brains as the teacher appears. Human 
nature is the same the world over. Children instinctively 
love beauty, cleanliness, tidiness, becoming clothing, friendly 
smiles, pleasant voices and cordial, cultured manners, as 
they instinctively turn from the opposites. Their intuitions 
are so keen and their sensibilities so acute that they are 
seldom deceived by any outward pretense. While they are 
quickly attracted by grace of form and beauty of feature, 
they speedily detect shams, and unless the outward charms 
are sustained by inward loveliness, they will turn away to 
cling to the teacher through whose rugged features shines 
that beauty of soul that constitutes lovableness. 

(b) Personal Appearance. No one is to infer that 
perfection of form and feature are to be held lightly. It 
is not true. Beauty is a gift to be thankful for and not to 
be depreciated. But there is a beauty of spirit greater than 
physical beauty alone, a beauty causing one to forget irreg- 
ularity of outlines, a beauty that by its irradiation seems 
to replace ugliness with loveliness. 

All may not possess or command the beauty that comes 
from physical perfection and fine raiment. But it is the 
right, the privilege and the duty of every teacher to make 
the best of the gifts she does possess, to keep her physical, 
mental and moral self at that high tide of health — which 
alone gives permanent beauty. 

And it is the right of the poorest district to expect to 
see a teacher who is normally developed, healthy, vigorous 



The School and its Environment 303 

in mind and body, energetic, courageous, cheerful, sym- 
pathetic, absolutely clean and tidy, and becomingly dressed. 
The schoolroom is a place for business, and the attire 
should be suited to the work to be done. Materials need 
not be expensive, and the clothing will always be suitable 
and becoming if neatly made and chosen carefully with 
reference to color and pattern. Little touches of color are 
almost a necessity in primary rooms, where the children 
htmger and thirst for beauty as flowers for the sunshine 
and dew. But the color may best be supplied by a natural 
flower or by a dainty ribbon or necktie. Glaring or dis- 
cordant colors rasp the nerves of children. Dresses with 
trailing skirts or of material that is easily harmed by dust 
are out of place where blackboard and crayon are used. 

(c) Qualifications. It is the right of every school to 
have a teacher who is prepared to do the work for which 
she is employed, who has studied conditions, is able and 
willing to make the best of what she finds, understands what 
tools are best and brings the skill to use these to the best 
advantage. A teacher can make no greater mistake than 
to try to teach "according to her salary." Are you in a 
school this year that pays but a meager salary and furnishes 
little or nothing to work with besides the walls and seats? 
Teach this school so well that next year a more desirable 
district will clamor for your services and be glad to pay 
well for them. Always do the best you can in salary with- 
out crowding out or underbidding another teacher. Then, 
whether your pay be much or little, teach as if you had a 
royal income and meant to earn every dollar of it. 

(d) Responsibility. The teacher stands legally in the 
parents' place during school hours; hence, she is responsible 
for the spiritual, mental and physical welfare of the pupils 
as long as they remain at the schoolhouse. The spiritual 
care is never to include any direct or indirect sectarian 
teaching. Anything and everything that savors of sectar- 
ianism is strictly forbidden by law in most states. On the 
other hand, the teacher is expected, by example and by 



304 Public School MetJwds 

precept, to inculcate the doctrine of good citizenship — a 
citizenship having the Christian virtues and graces for its 
foundation. In the main, this work is done the most 
efficiently, without confusion or bluster, by the silent influ- 
ence of daily example. By making and enforcing the right 
kind of rules, by choosing the right kind of stories to read 
to pupils, the right kind of songs for them to sing, the right 
kind of maxims for them to learn, the right kind of pictures 
for them to see and the right kind of games for them to 
play, good citizenship will certainly be taught. 

The mental welfare of the children is best conserved 
when the teaching is such as to inspire original thought 
and willing effort on the part of the pupils. These char- 
acteristics are the natural outgrowth of the school when the 
teacher possesses the right teaching spirit, a good general 
education, training for her work and the skill and tact needed 
to preserve the harmonious relations necessary to a happy 
school atmosphere. 

The physical welfare of the children is a matter for con- 
stant thought and attention. Speaking in general terms, 
the subject is covered in the discussions upon cleanliness, 
pure air, proper lighting, heating and seating, provisions 
for proper recesses and alternations of work and play. 

11. Reqtiirements. What is required of the teacher is 
so closely related to the direct work of teaching that we 
will make only a brief reference to this part of the problem 
at this time. The school authorities expect the teacher to 
exercise proper care of that part of the building and grounds 
under her charge. If the sole teacher in the school, the care 
of the entire school premises devolves upon her. 

She is also required to teach so many pages of arithmetic, 
geography, grammar, or of whatever branches she is hired 
to teach, with such a degree of thoroughness as will enable 
the pupils to pass the required examinations and receive 
the expected promotions in grade at the time prescribed 
by the course of study. But this is not all. The higher 
tribimal of educational thought and opinion now requires 



The School and its Environment 305 

that, along with the arithmetic and other branches taught, 
pupils— even little children — must be taught to think for 
themselves, to know and to choose what is right, to regard 
the rights of others, to learn to love order and beauty and 
symmetry, to recognize the responsibility resting upon even 
the youngest child as a factor in his world, to ujiderstand 
that truthfulness, kindness, courage and love of home and 
cotmtry are indispensable to the real happiness of the indi- 
vidual and to the welfare of the community. In short, there 
must be genuine growth in character and a distinct training 
for the best citizenship and the highest patriotism among 
the school children of today in order to satisfy the best 
educational sentiment and to meet the actual needs of this 
republic. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

1. Discuss the proper seating of a school, considering 
the relation (a) of the seat and the desk to the pupil; (b) 
of seats to the soiirce of light; (c) of seats to the stove or 
source of heat; (d) of seats to the teacher's desk. 

2. What effects does a badly ventilated schoolroom have 
upon pupils and consequently upon their work? 

3. What are the particular merits of each of the two 
systems of ventilation described in your lesson? 

4. Why does character play so important a part in a 
teacher's success? May a teacher with character above 
reproach still fail in her work? Give reasons for your answers. 

5. Which of the various precautionary measures men- 
tioned in this lesson are taken exclusively for hygienic 
reason? Be specific and give reasons for taking the pre- 
caution. 

6. What has a teacher a right to expect of the author- 
ities employing her? What have the authorities a right to 
expect from the teacher? 

7. Vv^hat seems to you the most difficult problem with 
wliich the inexperienced country school teacher has to 
deal? Suggest plans to overcome this difficulty. 



306 Public School Methods 

8. Describe the personal appearance and manners of 
your ideal teacher. 

9. Give at length two ways in which you would secvire 
the cooperation of your pupils in keeping the school grounds 
and schoolhouse in good condition. 

10. In what position does the teacher stand with respect 
(a) to the school board; (b) the superintendent and (c) the 
people of the district? 



LESSON TWENTY-ONE 

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 

1. Importance. Successful teaching is conditional upon a 
well-regulated school. Before the beginning of the term 
the teacher should work out a plan of operation which she 
can use temporarily, until through acquaintance with the 
school she can prepare a more effective program. One might 
as well attempt to operate a railway without a time table 
as to manage a school without a definite plan from which 
to work. The teacher who begins school without such a 
plan runs great risk of failure. 

2. General Matters. There are a few matters having a 
general bearing upon the school to which the teacher may 
or may not sustain direct relations, according to the system 
under which she works. Among these are the following: 

(a) Janitor Service. In large school buildings, the 
teacher has no supervision of the janitor; that duty devolves 
upon the principal. If his services are not satisfactory, the 
teacher should report the fact to the principal. She should 
always treat the janitor courteously, and see that her pupils 
do the same. In small buildings the teacher may have entire 
supervision of the janitor. In this case cooperation of teacher 
and pupils with him will do much towards making his services 
satisfactory, and towards keeping the schoolhouse and 
grounds in good condition. 

(b) Lunches. In primary schools it is a wise precau- 
tion to permit the little ones to bring a Hght luncheon to 
be eaten at the long recess. This, in many cases, is really 
a necessity to the comfort and proper nutrition of young 
children, as the excitement incident to getting off to school 
in season often causes breakfast to be neglected, if not 
entirely omitted. 

Ripe fruits in their season are the best for such luncheons ; 
when fruit cannot be had, light, well-baked bread with 
307 



308 Public School Methods 

good butter is wholesome and suitable. Heavy sweets and 
pickles should be ruled out, but light cookies may be used. 

When pupils reside a long distance from the school and 
the weather is very inclement, they should be encouraged 
to bring their dinners to school. In all other cases it is 
far better for children to have the warm food and the exercise 
incident to going home for their noon meal. 

(c) Mothers' Meetings. In towns and small cities the 
meeting of the teacher with the mothers of her pupils has 
become a settled custom. At these meetings discussions of 
various matters pertaining to the welfare of the school should 
be encouraged. The discussions should be in the most 
friendly and informal manner. When so conducted, occasional 
meetings of this kind may be of great value. They serve 
to secure the sympathy and cooperation of the parents with 
the teacher, on the one hand, and on the other they give 
the teacher a better knowledge of the home life of her pupils 
than she will otherwise gain. 

3. Emergencies. However carefully one may plan, unfore- 
seen events are bound to occur, and the teacher should be 
prepared for them. The most common happenings of this 
kind are mentioned below: 

(a) Accidents. To the unusual conditions, the emer- 
gencies that are liable to arise any day, some portion of 
these pages must be devoted. Despite the care and watch- 
fulness of the best and most experienced teacher, accidents 
sometimes occur in the schoolhouse or upon the school 
premises. When the accident is of a serious nature, like 
the breaking of a bone, for instance, the teacher should 
send word to the parents at once and call a doctor with all 
speed, getting the one usually employed by the family, if 
possible. Meantime, the little patient should be made as 
comfortable as possible until the doctor arrives and takes 
charge. 

Fortunately, such serious accidents are of rare occur- 
rence, but a child with a headache, a toothache, a cut, a 
bruise or a bad scratch may appear on any day and at any 



School Management 309 

hour. Such accidents rarely need cause alarm; usually they 
may be effectively treated by the teacher herself. For 
these emergencies the teacher should have a supply of clean 
old Hnen handkerchiefs, a stick of court plaster and a spool 
of strong white thread (No. 8 or lo). A small, clean sponge 
or soft cloth is useful to cleanse the affected places before 
any other remedies are used. 

Stings from bees or wasps are frequent in the country, 
and for these a little ammonia will afford quick relief. For 
headache, use a bandage wet in cold water and place it 
around the head above the eyes. A clean handkerchief 
wet with some stimulating, refreshing odor, like lilac extract, 
bay rum, cologne, or even spirits of camphor will often soothe 
and quiet the nerves and banish pain. Cloves will often 
quiet the toothache. 

The location of the school building may carry with it 
its peculiar perils and possibilities of peril, and it is impos- 
sible to give here any special suggestions for action. If the 
teacher determines to retain her self-possession, to act 
promptly and skilfully, as far as she knows, and to send 
for help when a serious difficulty of any kind arises, there 
is nothing in the possibiHty of accidents to cause worry 
or anxiety. 

(b) Inclement Weather. When children reach the 
school with wet feet or wet garments, the first business 
should be to dry them thoroughly at a good fire. On very 
wet or snowy days, many children are habitually kept at 
home. Those who reach the school should be made as com- 
fortable as possible. Let them gather around the register 
or stove while you conduct the morning exercises. Dis- 
pensing with the ordinary formalities on such occasions 
need not cause disorder. 

Before children are sent out into cold, stormy weather, 
their wraps should be brought into the room, thoroughly 
warmed, and then put on and fastened so that there is no 
danger of their coming off. In summer severe thunder- 
storms may come up near the close of school, and then it 



310 Public School Methods 

is the part of wisdom to send the children home early, if it 
is certain that they can be safely housed before the storm 
breaks. But if the storm has come too near before discovery, 
it is wiser to detain the children until after the storm, or 
until their parents come for them. 

(c) Precautions Against Fire. During winter, fire is 
an ever-present possible danger. ■ Every large school build- 
ing should have a plan for dismissing school so thoroughly 
worked out, and practiced, that the building can be cleared 
of one thousand or more pupils within two or three minutes, 
and this on unexpected signals. If a regular plan of dis- 
missal and exit from the building is followed day after day, 
a fire alarm will cause no confusion or alarm among the 
pupils. In small schools there is less danger, but even 
here a systematic plan of leaving the building should be 
followed, to prevent any possibility of a panic should a fire 
occur. 

(d) Contagious Diseases. There are certain contagious 
diseases which the teacher is liable to meet, and with the 
symptoms of which she ought to be familiar, if possible. 
Measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet fever and diph- 
theria are the principal children's diseases that are liable 
to appear in school, and of these the last two are the ones 
most to be dreaded, the ones which demand prompt and 
intelligent care for the patient's sake, and complete isola- 
tion for the safety of others. In any case in which the teacher 
is suspicious of a child's condition, the part of wisdom is 
to send the little one home promptly with a polite note 
explaining the cause, and if the parents are known to be 
ignorant or careless, recommending the immediate employ- 
ment of a physician. Nothing should be done to cause 
unnecessary alarm, either to the sick child or among the 
well pupils. In fact, nothing should be said about the case 
that will attract the attention of other children, tmless it 
becomes necessary for sanitary reasons. While promptness 
of action is necessary, undue haste and excitement should 
be avoided. 



School Management 311 

In the mothers' meetings previously referred to, a help- 
ful subject for friendly discussion would be that of con- 
tagious diseases. The early symptoms, the progress of the 
disease and the period of convalescence, proper care and 
isolation during each stage, and the time when a safe return 
to school is possible, are all topics that might well come up 
for consideration. If a skilful physician or an experienced 
trained nurse could be present at one of these meetings to 
give a brief, plain talk upon the symptoms, care and preven- 
tion of contagious diseases, it would be a great help. If 
the doctor can come frequently, only one disease should be 
discussed at a meeting, and the mothers should be urged 
to participate freely in the discussion following the doctor's 
brief lecture. It goes without saying that their questions 
and remarks should be given sympathetic, respectful attention. 

The schools are often the means of spreading contagious 
diseases in an alarming manner, and anything that can be 
done to teach the people the importance of prevention 
should not be lightly ignored. If the teacher herself is 
ignorant, she should not hesitate to consult a physician 
promptly in any case of imcertainty. 

Besides those mentioned, there are other minor infectious 
diseases which are the outgrowth of gross neglect of the 
most common rules of health, and these diseases the teacher 
is very apt to meet and should not hesitate to eradicate 
even at the risk of some personal inconvenience. Sometimes 
whole families are affected with vermin or skin diseases which 
might easily be communicated to other children in the school. 
These are always cases that need to be treated with great 
skill and tact and in a private manner. The mere fact that 
the children are affected shows that the parents are ignorant 
or careless, or both, and it is quite possible that they will 
not care to be reminded of their neglect. Still the teacher's 
duty is clear; the remedy lies with the parents and not with 
the children. The latter should not suffer mortification for 
what is not their own fault. A real sympathy with the 
sufferings of the children will suggest to the teacher delicate 



312 Public School Methods 

ways in which the subject may be handled with the parents, 
who, however, must be made to understand the imperative 
necessity for a different condition. These cases of neglect 
are less frequent than formerly, and, in most cases, there 
are sanitary rules made by school officials which cover such 
emergencies. These rules the teacher may cite if she finds 
it necessary. 

Caution. However disagreeable these cases may be, the 
teacher should manage them with skill and tact, in order 
to secure immediate reforms and still not arouse antagonism 
and ill feeling by the discharge of an unwelcome duty. 

4. Apparatus. It sometimes happens that teachers enter 
a school building and find little or nothing to work with. 
Occasionally this is due to lack of school funds, sometimes 
to lack of appreciation of the need of proper apparatus, 
sometimes, alas ! because the school authorities have become 
discouraged and rendered indifferent by the neglect of 
previous teachers to use the apparatus provided, or even 
to take proper care cf it. It is the duty of the principal 
to see that all apparatus in the building is properly cared 
for, and also to encourage his teachers to make the best 
possible use of it. In buildings having no principal, this 
duty devolves upon the teacher. It is also much to the 
teacher's credit to be able to suggest inexpensive ways of 
providing simple apparatus, for even the most wealthy 
school districts do not have sufficient money for all their 
needs. Rooms of the first, second and third grades should 
be furnished with the following appliances; while more are 
desirable, these are essential: 

(a) Pointers. Any teacher would prefer a pointer 
properly made, finished with a rubber tip at one end and 
a hook at the other. But such is not an actual necessity, 
and its place can be filled, if necessary, by a hardwood twig 
with smooth bark and of a suitable size and length. 

(b) Erasers. These are often poor and insufficient in 
number, but, fortunately, their place may be supplied by 
soft old cloths which can be dusted and washed easily. 



School Management 313 

(c) Blackboard Curtain. In primary rooms, a curtain 
that may be used to cover work that is prepared for certain 
classes to use at certain hours only is a great convenience. 
It may be made of any washable cotton goods; brass rings 
may be sewed to the top hem, a cord nm through these, 
and the ends of the cord fastened to hooks in the wood- 
work at the upper part of the blackboard. In this way 
the board is not at all injured or disfigured, and the curtain 
may be pushed to one side when not needed. The teacher 
can make such a curtain at a very slight cost, and its con- 
venience will many times repay the trouble. 

(d) Charts. All primary teachers of experience know 
the value and convenience of charts for drill work in 
reading, spelling, number, phonics, color, nature work 
and other subjects. Many teachers have also learned 
that charts of their own making are in many cases of 
greater value than the expensive ones furnished by pub- 
lishing houses and school supply companies, because they 
can be made exactly to fit the needs of their own particular 
schools. 

The materials needed for a home-made chart are a good 
supply of heavy manila paper, a yard of strong, coarse, 
unbleached linen or cotton, some brass rings and a ball of 
heavy cord. Cut the manila paper into sheets three feet 
by two feet, or two and a half feet by two feet, as preferred. 
Take one of these for the outside cover in each case, mark- 
ing on it in large, heavy, brush letters the name of the chart, 
as Spelling, Phonics or Number. 

Rule the charts faintly with a lead pencil and print rows 
of words or figures, or whatever is desired. It is best to use 
a brush and India ink ; but if these are not easily obtainable, 
use a very heavy marking pen, a rubber pen, or a soft pine 
stick, in cases of emergency, and very black ink — India ink 
is the best. The main thing is to have the printing accurate, 
in large, distinct letters, to prevent eye strain, and to have 
the chart neat as well as durable. 

Stencils and rubber alphabets for marking may be 



314 Public School Methods 

obtained, if desired, from school book publishers and from 
school supply houses. 

The top edge of each chart leaf should be strongly bound 
with the heavy unbleached linen or cotton mentioned — 
about one inch wide on each side — to which two brass rings 
are strongly sewed. Through the rings pass tape or a strong 
cord, so that these single sheets may be hung at a con- 
venient height for the children to use. With these inex- 
pensive materials the ingenious teacher will provide herself 
with charts on all subjects in which such helps are needed. 
Specific directions for making these various charts are given 
in the lessons on teaching the respective branches. When 
the charts are not in use, they should be placed in the closet, 
out of sight, and away from dust. 

(e) Other Apparatus. Under this heading is included 
the material for number work, globes, maps, material and 
tools for construction work, and such other appliances as 
the work of the grade from time to time demands. These 
articles are described in detail in the lessons preceding, 
each being considered in relation to the subject to which 
it belongs. 

5. Books and Periodicals. Every room should have a 
supply of books and periodicals suited to its grade of work. 
Ihese should be so placed that the children, under the 
teacher's direction, have access to them. Of course, in a 
first grade room but few extra books will be needed, but 
these few are a great help to both teacher and pupils, and 
should be supplied; by their use the children begin to form 
the reading habit. In the second and third grades a good 
number of books can be read. 

In cities, books are usually supplied to the rooms from 
the general school library; and by distributing different 
books to the rooms of the same grade, and then interchang- 
ing these sets among the rooms, all the pupils of that grade 
have access to all the books during the year. But even 
when this plan is followed, it is well to have a small library 
for the room. Some of the books should consist of stories 



School Management 315 

suitable for the children, and others should be of assistance 
in nature study and other branches of the course of 
study. In a system of graded schools, the selections of 
these books usually devolves upon the superintendent, prin- 
cipals and one or more teachers selected from the different 
grades. 

In small towns and rural districts, the matter of procur- 
ing a library may depend almost entirely upon the teacher. 
When confronted with this task, she should first of all secure 
the cooperation of the parents; this can usually be done 
through the children. The district may have a ftmd which 
can be used for purchasing books, but if it has not, some 
other means must be devised for raising the money. A 
school entertainment, in which all the pupils take part, 
and to which a small admission fee is charged, may be 
admissible once a year, or once a term. These entertain- 
ments should be so managed as not to interfere with the 
regular work of the school. For plans and material the 
teacher should consult educational journals, or boolis pub- 
lished especially for the purpose. Some states have a library 
fund, and this may be drawn upon to supplement the local 
fund raised by any school. 

A few states have traveling school libraries, which are 
of great benefit to the schools in small towns and rural dis- 
tricts. Nearly all states now have Hbrary lists which can 
be obtained from the Department of Public Instruction. 
These are practically descriptive catalogues of the choicest 
juvenile books, and are invaluable in making selections for 
a school library. 

A few magazines which the children can read and enjoy 
should also be provided. Third grade pupils will enjoy 
portions of such periodicals as The World's Chronicle, The 
Week's Progress and Wide World Magazine, while other 
portions can be read to them by the teacher. 

Cautions, (i ) Do not be discouraged if you do not obtain 
a library the first time you attempt it. In schools where 
such facilities are lacking, the communities are usually slow 



316 Public School Methods 

to realize their necessity, and persistent effort is necessary 
to secure results, 

(2) Work out one need before starting upon another. 

(3) Be always 'very cautious about calling upon pupils 
or parents for money. To secure a working cooperation is 
far better, as it begets a permanent interest in school affairs, 
while asking often for contributions of money causes irrita- 
tion and is apt to frustrate your plans. 

(4) The teacher should secure the aid of her pupils in 
raising funds for reading matter and not attempt to carry 
the burden alone. The boys and girls always take far more 
interest in whatever costs some personal sacrifice in the 
way of money, time or effort. 

(5) The use of the reading table must be made a priv- 
ilege to be earned, and not allowed to encroach upon regular 
work. 

(6) Pupils must be trained to handle books, magazines 
and newspapers carefully and to leave them in orderly 
arrangement for others to use. 

6. Decorations. The objects of schoolroom decoration 
are to minister to the child's innate craving for the beauti- 
ful, to encourage his efforts by placing on exhibition speci- 
mens of his best work, to reduce truancy and absences to 
the minimum, to eliminate all that is base and repulsive, 
to make the school seem more attractive and homelike, and 
to create an atmosphere of refinement and good taste. 

The underlying principles of such decoration must be 
harmony, simplicity, appropriateness, with taste and skill 
in arrangement. The decorations should be adapted to the 
season of the year and to the grade of pupils for whom they 
are arranged. 

As a rule, when decoration is attempted at all, the 
tendency is to decorate overmuch and to introduce too 
many bright colors. In such cases the result is a crowded, 
bizarre appearance which gives a general sense of fussiness 
and unrest. Therefore, one of the first things to remember 
is to leave plenty of restful spaces for the eye to dwell upon 




Photograph from W. L. Sinith>-man, Prinripal Sixteenth District School, MUwaukee, Wis. 
PRIMARY SCHOOLROOM 



School Management 317 

when the mind and nerves have become weary from long- 
continued effort. 

(a) Color-Scheme. The most restful tone color for a 
schoolroom is a dull green. If possible, instead of black- 
boards there should be boards of a dark green, which makes 
a less glaring contrast with the white crayon. The side 
walls should be of Hght olive and the ceiling white, faintly 
tinted with green. Window shades of a light olive color 
would complete the foundation color scheme and make a 
neutral tint that would pleasantly harmonize with almost 
any brighter color. 

(b) Borders. For September, a narrow border across 
the top of the blackboard representing a union of golden- 
rod and asters may be made in colored crayon. For October, 
the border may be autumn leaves. November may have 
oak leaves and acoms, stalks and ears of com, and so on. 
For these borders, inexpensive stencils may be procured, if 
the teacher has not the time or skill to draw. Often real 
leaves and other objects may be used in appropriate designs. 

When there is but a limited amount of board, it must 
be kept for work alone. In that case, the coveted bit of 
seasonable color may be supplied by making a calendar in 
colors, from large sheets of heavy manila paper, the same 
as that used for charts, using a whole page for each month. 
At the left side place an appropriate design and carry the 
same idea across the top and partly down the right side in 
a narrow border. The letters and figures should be large 
and distinct, that they may be easily read in any part of 
the room, 

(c) Pictures. No schoolroom seems complete without 
pictures, and yet no pictures are far better than bad ones; 
hence, the choice of pictures should be governed by good 
taste, suitability of subject and adaptation to the needs 
of the pupils. 

In primary rooms, particularly, the pictures should be 
of a restful character or such as from their action element 
give a pleasantly exhilarating effect — never those that arouse 



318 Public School Methods 

sorrow, anger, combativeness or general unrest. The pictures 
hang before the children, meeting their eyes a score of times 
each day, teaching their silent lessons, impressing them- 
selves indelibly upon the character. 

The subjects of the pictures should be such as can be 
comprehended without much, if any, explanation. More- 
over, the pictures should be simple in design, since many 
compHcated details serve to confuse the children and leave 
behind a feeling of perplexity and doubt. Pictures of babies, 
little children, dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, lambs, hens and 
chickens, birds and flowers always appeal to children, as, 
also, those of cows, calves, deer and horses. All these lend 
themselves naturally to action and arouse pleasant feelings 
because of their kindly associations. When the picture 
combines any of these well-known animals with children 
or adults in friendly groups, the effect is better still, and 
a lesson of kindness to the dumb creatures of the world is 
also effectively impressed. 

Among the many beautiful pictures admirably adapted 
to use in primary schools are the following i^ 

Can't You Talk? — Holmes. 
Baby Stuart. — Vandyke. 
Family of Charles I. — Vandyke. 
Friends Now, Pussy. — Kauffman. 
At the Farm. — Munier. 
The Little Ntirse. — Von Bremen. 
Friends or Foes? — C. Burton Barber. 
Four Kittens. — T. Adam. 
Playmates. — H. Merle. 
The Madonna of the Chair. — Raphael. 
The Madonna. — Von Bodenhausen. 
The Madonna. — Carlo Dolce. 
Christ Blessing Little Children. — Vogel. 
Child's Head. — Vogel. 
The Little Shepherdess. — Munier. 
A Feather in Grandmothers Cap. — John Morgan. 
Girl with Lilacs. — Millais. 
Cows in Summer. — E. Van Marcke. 

^iPictures marked with the star are better appreciated by pupils above the 
primary grades. They may be used in schools containing all grades of children. 



School Management 319 

Cows in June. — Auguste Bonlieur. 

Playing Ball. — F. Dvorak. 

Miss Bowles. — Sir Joshua Reynolds. 

Little Samuel. — Sir Joshua Reynolds. 

A Noble Charger. — Rosa Bonheur. 
*The Horse Fair. — Rosa Bonheur. 
*Changing Pasture. — Rosa Bonheur. 
*An Old Mofiarch. — Rosa Bonheur. 
*The Lake. — Corot. 

Dance of Children. — Corot. 

* Landscape (white birches). — Corot. 
*Effle Deans. — Millais. 

*The Princes in the Tower. — Millais. 
*Day Dreams. — Sir Frederick Leighton. 
*Letty. — Sir Frederick Leighton. 

* Aurora. — Guido Reni. 
*Angels' Heads. — Correggio. 
*The Critics. — Landseer. 
*Deer. — Landseer. 

*Old Temeraire (Nelson's flag-ship). — Turner. 

All in the foregoing list are paintings which may be had 
in black and white reproductions. Lists and prices may be 
obtained from The Perry Pictures Co., Maiden, Mass.; C. P. 
Brown & Co., Beverly, Mass.; Soule Art Co., Boston, Mass.; 
The Art Education Company, Chicago, and others. It is 
surprising how many fine pictures may be obtained at a 
trifling expense. 

After the pictures are chosen, care should be taken to 
have them hung in a favorable light and where the children 
of the room can enjoy them most. 

Cautions, (i) The use of pictures on Biblical subjects 
should be guarded so that no religious sentiment will be 
antagonized; especially is this caution necessary in schools 
composed very largely of Jewish children. 

(2) No picture should be chosen for the schoolroom 
merely because it is among those called "classic." Be sure 
that it possesses the needed characteristics, and, if it does, 
give it to the children whether it was done by " an old master " 
or by a more modem artist. 

(3) Avoid battle scenes and such pictures as The Par- 



320 Public School Methods 

thenon in Ruins, The Death of Abel and The Laocoon, for 
they produce saddening thoughts, unrest and even dis- 
sension. 

(d) Other Decorations. From time to time new 
specimens of the work done by the school should be put 
in evidence, changing often enough to avoid accumulations 
of dust and rubbish, than which nothing can be drearier 
in its effect. 

Specimens of written work, drawing and penmanship 
should be preserved as an encouragement to painstaking 
effort on the part of the little ones. So, also,, with handi- 
work. Sash-curtains may easily be constructed from the 
chains made from colored papers. Another style may be 
made by stringing, alternately, large kindergarten colored 
beads and straws cut into lengths of one or two inches. 
Such curtains placed across the lower sash of the windows 
produce a pretty oriental effect, if given artistic color blend- 
ings. Specimens of weaving, sewing, paper folding, cutting 
or tearing may be grouped to advantage and used in room 
decoration. The illustration on the opposite page shows 
how this work may be used. 

A few growing plants, flowers in their season, are always 
in good taste, but these must be properly cared for and 
never allowed to die of neglect, else the underlying purpose 
will be wholly defeated. 

Cautions. Remember that the first requisite in produc- 
ing an attractive schoolroom is cleanliness, with an orderly, 
systematic arrangement of books and apparatus. 

(2) The second demand is for freedom, space; overcrowd- 
ing produces a sort of mental breathlessness and irritates 
the nerves. 

(3) Harmonious results are produced by proper color- 
schemes, simplicity, pleasing arrangement and entire appro- 
priateness of decorations. 

(4) At least one United States flag should always be in 
the schoolroom, occupying a place of honor. 

(5) Remember to change often from one exhibit to 



School Management 321 

another in these specimens of handicraft, and be careful 
to avoid "fussy" effects. 

When the above conditions are compHed with, every- 
one will be pleasingly impressed. The schoolroom remains 
a workroom, but there is the same subtle sense of refine- 
ment, good taste and cheeriness that one feels when entering 
a well-ordered house that is the home of cultured, refined 
people with high ideals of life. 

7. Organization. A good beginning is essential to success, 
and the first day is the most important day of the term. 
You should plan carefully for this day, and be prepared to 
start the pupils in their work without delay. If your class 
includes only a first grade, you will of necessity have to 
devote most of the first session to welcoming the little people 
and making them feel at home in their new surroundings. 
If you have a second or a third grade, learn before the 
beginning of school what lessons to assign each class, and 
make these assignments immediately after the opening 
exercises. You can then go quietly about the room and 
take the names of the pupils. In grades where pupils can 
write, this should be done by distributing sHps. If these 
slips are of uniform size, they can be arranged on a 
large sheet of cardboard, so that each slip occupies on 
the cardboard a position corresponding to the seat of 
the pupil in the room. By consulting this plan of the 
room, you can learn the names of the pupils with little or 
no effort. 

Determine how you are to call and dismiss classes, and 
what signals you are to use for directing the general move- 
ments of the school; then make use of these devices from 
the beginning. 

Adopt the program of your predecessor until a thorough 
acquaintance with the school enables you to make one 
which will be permanent, and plan for such other work as 
you think will be needed. These duties can all be summed 
up in the following rule: 

Before entering your schoolroom know definitely what you 



322 Public School Methods 

are going to do, how you are going to do it, and when you are 
going to do it. 

8. Helpers. Books and pencils may be very quickly and 
quietly distributed by helpers appointed for the purpose. 
These helpers may serve for a week, be then publicly thanked 
for their services and relieved by other children, who are 
appointed in their turn to serve for a week. They assist 
the teacher in various ways in the details of the school house- 
keeping outside of the janitor's regular duties. 

General good feeling may be secured by choosing helpers 
on Friday afternoon each week from those who have proved 
themselves faithful and trustworthy. The teacher may 
make her appointment in such words as, "John, Helen, 
Sarah and Henry are among those who have been partic- 
ularly faithful (or courteous) this week, and I appoint these 
four as helpers for next week." This right spirit may also 
be induced by such maxims as Lucy Larcom's " Hands that 
bless are blest," and Edward Everett Hale's "Lend a hand." 

Caution. Children should never be forced to serve in 
any such capacity, nor allowed to look upon such an appoint- 
ment save as a mark of distinction. 

9. Program. The program is the working plan for each 
day of the school; it governs teacher and pupil alike. In 
Section 7 we suggested that a temporary program be arranged 
and followed imtil a permanent program could be made. 
This permanent program should be in readiness before the 
end of the first week. Undue neglect in this matter is liable 
seriously to affect the discipline of the school and to inter- 
fere with the best progress of the pupils. 

(a) Points to be Considered. In order that a really 
satisfactory program may be made, the teacher must give 
deep thought to the answering of certain underlying ques- 
tions whose relative claims must be properly adjusted. Some 
of these questions are recurrent and will need to be con- 
sidered again and again in the application of the program, 
as well as in its original construction. The questions to 
which we refer are the following: 



School Management 323 

(i) How many grades are there in the room? 

(2) How many subjects are there to be taught? 

(3) How much time can be allowed for each subject 
daily? 

(4) How much time can be given to each recitation? 

(5) What subjects are best suited to the forenoon? 

(6) What subjects are best assigned to the afternoon? 

(7) How long shall the recesses be? 

(8) When are they to occur? 

(9) When may there be other periods of relaxation and 
rest? 

(10) Of what length should these be? 

(11) What kind of work may be provided for pupils who 
are not reciting? 

(b) Grades in a Room. In closely graded city schools, 
it is generally arranged to have but one grade in a room, 
but this one grade contains from thirty-five to seventy 
pupils, thirty-five being less than the average number and 
seventy considerably more than the average. Except in 
the largest cities, where it seems impossible to provide 
properly for the rapidly increasing number of pupils in the 
primary grades, superintendents try to assign not more than 
forty pupils to one teacher. Experienced teachers are able 
to handle that number with a fair degree of comfort and 
success. In most instances, two classes of twenty each 
are made, one division reciting while the other is occupied 
with some form of quiet work. 

In schools having more than two grades in a room, the 
problem is somewhat more complicated. However, in such 
a room only one division to a grade is necessary. In plan- 
ning a program for such a room, care should be taken to 
give each grade an equal share of the teacher's time, and 
to provide all pupils with work for every period of the day. 
The distribution of time can be arranged by giving the 
lower grades short recitation periods, and a correspondingly 
larger number of recitations. When the recitations are 
arranged, the study periods can be planned without difficulty. 



324 Public School Methods 

(c) Other Considerations. The subjects to be taught 
and the number of classes necessary are determined by the 
course of study. Courses of study are in such general use 
that specific directions concerning these matters are not 
necessary. Most schools also keep a classification register, 
which contains a statement of the work of each pupil. This 
register the teacher leaves for her successor whenever a change 
occurs, and from it the incoming teacher is able to obtain 
such information as will enable her to classify her school. 

Caution. The rule should be to follow the program, in 
all its details, conscientiously, day by day. The deviation 
is the exception to the rule, and should occur only as condi- 
tions change to make the deviation a necessity. The inex- 
perienced teacher will find that to vary the program is the 
easiest possible solution for many a difficulty, but there 
are comparatively few cases in which it is really justified. 
No matter how much the teacher feels that a few minutes 
more would make the lesson she is conducting a perfect 
one, and that to stop her work on the moment is to inter- 
fere with it, yet the rights of the pupils outside this par- 
ticular class demand fair consideration. This caution should 
not be carried too far. If it is very evident that a change 
in program will be to the advantage of many pupils, then 
the teacher should be brave enough to vary the rule. As 
a teacher gains in experience she will be surprised to find 
how by previous preparation and planning of work she can 
almost wholly eliminate the necessity of any great number 
of changes. 

10. Recesses. The time for recesses, their length, and 
whether they are to be indoors or out, will be determined 
largely by local conditions. Young children should have a 
recess of at least ten minutes, and fifteen minutes is better 
still, if the time can be found. This long recess should occur 
in the middle of each half-day session. "Whenever possible, 
all long recesses should be taken in the open air. Short 
rest periods between recitations prevent fatigue and cause 
the pupils to work more vigorously, hence they are in every 



School Management 325 

respect beneficial. They should not exceed one or two 
minutes in length. For exercises which may be used in these 
periods, see Volume One, pages 175-186. 

Cautions, (i) Such games as jumping the rope, "snap 
the whip" and the Hke must be carefully watched, to pre- 
vent over-exertion, accidents and other injurious results. 

(2) In inclement weather, the outdoor games must be 
dispensed with and games suited to indoors must be subr 
stituted. These should be varied, as active as may be, but 
not such as will damage the school property. 

(3) The recess being a necessity for the preservation of 
health, no pupil should be deprived of it. But for flagrant 
and repeated violations of the playground rights and priv- 
ileges, he may be compelled to take his recess entirely by 
himself tmtil he is once more willing to conduct himself in 
accordance with prescribed regulations. The recess is his 
right, his physical necessity and the teacher's protection. 

(4) If the school is under your charge, be on the play- 
ground at recess and take an active and sympathetic part 
in all the games. At the same time be alert to prevent 
accidents, impositions upon the weaker pupils and other 
improper conduct. 

11. Work for Pupils Not Reciting. Until the child 
enters school he is able to find expression for his overflow- 
ing activity in a thousand spontaneous ways. It now 
becomes the teacher's problem to turn this same activity 
into educational channels and to prevent a loss of happi- 
ness to the pupils in so doing. 

It is safe to say that this problem has never yet been 
solved with perfect success, since it involves some of the 
most difficult questions in the whole subject of child educa- 
tion. Consideration for the rights of others imposes, of 
necessity, some restraint upon the individual; hence, the 
child can no longer have the perfect freedom of his ante- 
school days. But his physical well-being will suffer, and 
the joy of existence become largely a thing of the past, 
under a restraint that is sternly imposed or harshly enforced. 



326 Public School Methods 

How, then, shall we find employment for that craving activity 
of mind and body, employment that will be valuable and 
interesting, not too restrained on the one hand, nor too 
noisy on the other? 

These become the real questions: (a) How to make the 
transition from home to school life so natural, easy and 
pleasant that the school becomes a place of happiness for 
the child, and at the same time teaches him gradually the 
willing restraint that rises from a noble self-control, born 
of a desire to treat others fairly and to win the love and 
approval of his teacher; (b) how to keep his time employed 
all the while in a manner to supplement the work of the 
recitation period, to teach the muscles to obey the will 
promptly and skilfully, i.e., to train the eye to see, the hand 
to do; (c) how to cultivate good taste, to inculcate respect 
for labor and the laborer, to sharpen his perceptions and 
the power of discrimination, to develop a healthy moral 
sense, to render the child self-helpful and create in him a 
real desire to help others. 

All this and more is to be accomplished, and quite largely 
through the occupations that the teacher assigns to fill the 
time outside of the regular recitation period. These occupa- 
tions, of course, cover the busy work, and all the readings, 
games, marches, songs and whatever is chosen for the 
periods of relaxation and recreation, both indoor and out- 
door. 

Cautions, (i) Do not expect to accomplish everything 
in a day, a week, a month or a year. Be satisfied with your 
efforts if you see a gradual, cheerful turning towards the 
ideals you are trying to inspire. 

(2) Remember that the child is growing, that both 
mental and physical powers are too weak to endure con- 
centrated effort for more than brief periods without change. 
If you fail to keep this in mind, the fatigue and disrelish 
which paralyze further efforts will seize your pupils- 

(3) Remember that genuine fun is a thing not only 
relished by the child, but needed to balance the periods 



School Management 327 

of real work and serious application. It affords the same 
relaxation to the mental powers that a game full of activity 
does to the muscles. 

"A little nonsense now and then 
Is relished by the best of men," 

and how much more by children! 

(4) "Variety is the spice of Hfe" to mature people, and 
to children a necessity, for the reasons already given. Chil- 
dren will welcome infinite repetition of favorite games or 
songs, but when minds or bodies feel fatigue, interest flags, 
and some other thing must be given — not necessarily a 
new thing, but a change from the last one. Lines of suit- 
able occupations are given under separate topics in various 
parts of this work. 

12. The Friday Program. The program for Friday fore- 
noon remains unchanged in all respects, and usually until 
after recess in the afternoon the daily order is followed. 
There may, properly, be a deviation in the character of the 
recitations, using the time for reviews in the different sub- 
jects, instead of giving entirely new lessons. Oral spelling 
may be substituted for the usual written spelling, and the 
teacher may fill the time with words chosen from all that 
have been previously learned. A literature period in which 
all the pupils participate should be a regular feature of 
Friday afternoon. One or two children from each class may 
be chosen a week in advance to read to the school some 
interesting short article, story or otherwise, in prose or verse ; 
others may be chosen to give suitable declamations; and the 
school may recite in concert the literary selections previously 
learned. The general science lesson should be made par- 
ticularly interesting, and the time for the lesson in color 
work, paper folding, sewing, weaving and the like, extended. 

Friday afternoon may well be the established visiting 
day for parents and friends, and pupils should be taught to 
render them the courtesies due to guests on all occasions. 
The favorite songs, games, marches and other items of like 
nature should be made prominent as a desirable part of the 



328 Public School Methods 

exercises, and every device used to make the time an espe- 
cially happy one. 

If these or similar plans are carried out in spirit and 
in truth, then no half day of all the week will be a 
more potent factor in the education of the children, and 
through its pleasant features the much-needed bond between 
home and school will be greatly strengthened. Moreover, 
the pupils will go home at the end of the week refreshed 
and made happy by this little gala time, which is, really, 
the legitimate outgrowth of a week of required work 
faithfully done, but which comes to them more in the 
light of a well-earned reward wearing the guise of a partial 
holiday. 

Cautions, (i) Never allow the Friday afternoon exercises 
to extend beyond the usual closing time; it is better to make 
a practice of closing a few minutes earlier. However, in 
some districts public sentiment will not permit earlier clos- 
ing, there being a general sentiment that the teacher should 
earn her salary by working full hours. However false such 
an idea may be, it deserves respect until the teacher has 
had time to change public feeling. 

(2) The children should be made to feel that the enter- 
taining Friday afternoon program calls for as much honest 
effort and is as dignified a part of the week's schooling as 
any other. If the exercises are undertaken in the right 
spirit and are carried out as perfectly as the children's ability 
will permit, they are helpful ; but if there is a general letting- 
up, a feeling that the time does not coimt for much and 
that the exercises might just as well be omitted, then it is 
far better to discontinue them. 

13. Special Days. These are days set apart for marking 
some event or interest of particular importance, as Bird 
Day, Arbor Day, Flag Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and 
birthdays of great authors, artists, inventors and philan- 
thropists. Such days have become established facts in so 
many schools that a detailed account of how to celebrate 
them is not needed here. 



School Management 329 

In a number of states booklets and other appropriate 
literature are sent out yearly by the Superintendent of 
Public Instruction suggesting helpful programs, poems, 
stories, songs and decorations to be used on Arbor Day and 
on Bird Day. In addition to these aids, similar help for the 
other special days will be found in books published for that 
particular purpose by C. W. Bardeen & Co., Syracuse, N. Y. ; 
Milton Bradley & Co., Springfield, Mass.; A. Flanagan Com- 
pany, Chicago; Educational Publishing Company, Chicago, 
and many others who deal in school supplies and school 
literature. Such books contain about all the help any teacher 
needs and are not onl)'' comprehensive, but inexpensive, 
as well. Ascertain first what your state has to offer. You 
may be able to obtain very beautiful books without expense. 

14. The Recitation, (a) Purpose. There are still many 
teachers who appear to think that the sole purpose of the 
recitation is to test the pupil's preparation of the subject 
or portion of a subject that has been assigned to him for 
study. 

This is a mistaken notion, however. While a portion of 
the recitation period should be devoted to testing the 
thoroughness of preparation, other and higher ends are to 
be accomplished. The teacher must discover whether the 
pupil understands the relation that the present lesson has 
to those that have preceded it; she must also discover how 
much of the new lesson has become a part of the pupil's 
permanent stock of knowledge, i.e., how much of the infor- 
mation contained in the new lesson he has grasped and 
assimilated; and, finally, her questions during the recitation 
must be such as to bring out the thinking powers of the 
pupil and show him the relation the lesson bears to himself. 

(b) The Plan. Speaking in general terms, we may say 
that the recitation itself consists of the introduction, the 
development, the drill and the summary. 

The introduction should always be brief, pertinent, and a 
preparation for the new lesson; in other words, the intro- 
duction forms the connecting link between the previous 



330 Public School Methods 

lesson and the new one. When a portion of the subject has 
already been taught, the introduction should be a rapid 
review of that part of the subject upon which the new lesson 
depends. Frequently two or three questions clearly put will 
be all that are needed in such cases. When a new topic — 
one that the pupil is considering for the first time — is the 
lesson assigned, then a single pertinent remark from the 
teacher may serve as the introduction. 

The development, in most cases, should occupy the major 
part of the recitation. In this division the information con- 
tained in the new lesson is brought out carefully and clearly, 
point by point, in properly related order. The preparation 
of the lesson is thoroughly tested, the weak places revealed, 
the assimilation, or lack of it, discovered. This is properly 
the teaching portion of the lesson, hence the term develop- 
ment. 

In nine cases out of ten the development is the most 
enjoyable part of the recitation, both to teacher and pupil, 
because it deals with new ideas and also because it permits 
the free interchange of thought as the questioning brings 
the reasoning powers more and more actively into use. 
Moreover, it is this part of the recitation that introduces 
apparatus and illustrations, to make doubtful points clear 
by actual demonstration or by the more subtle elucidation 
afltorded by an apt simile or metaphor. In either case, the 
teacher is using her skill to establish the desired truths by 
means of the law of associated ideas. 

The drill, as its name implies, is a section of the recita- 
tion meant to fasten in the memory of the pupil the new 
ideas of the lesson, one presentation of which is rarely enough 
for the purpose. Retention may be said to be the child of 
attention and repetition, and on these two powerful aids 
the teacher must depend for success in the drill. 

No one must conclude that the drill necessarily is a cer- 
tain .number of minutes following the close of the entire 
development. The better plan is by repetition to fasten 
each point thoroughly as it is brought out, remembering 



School Management 331 

not to use so much time for this as to distract the reason- 
ing power from its onward course. When the development 
is completed, it is most desirable to use a minute or two 
in recalling the points of the lesson in order, dwelling a little 
on each, to remove any possible vagueness of comprehension. 

Inexperienced teachers are apt to neglect the drill, spend- 
ing all their enthusiasm, energy and time upon preparing 
and presenting a clever and interesting development. This 
neglect leaves a weak place in the lesson and shows a lament- 
able lack of pedagogical judgment on the part of the teacher. 
The first impression of a new truth must be deepened and 
made permanent by repetition, but the repetition must be 
made interesting. 

A drill that consists of the same question asked over 
and over, requiring again and again the answer in the same 
form, is a mere waste of time, repugnant both to teacher 
and pupils, because there is neither interest nor life in it. 
Be prepared to word your questions in different ways; call 
forth the answers in new forms; use both individual and 
concert work; keep the class wide-awake, alert and full of 
interest by distributing your questions in imexpected ways. 
To illustrate, suppose you have merely worked out with 
objects the fact that 2 times 2 are 4. Do not keep asking 
endlessly, "2 times 2 are how many?" Change to "How 
many are 2 times 2?", "How many 2's in 4?", "How many 
are 2 multiplied by 2?", "4 is how many 2's?", "Two 2's 
are how many?", "How many 2's can you get from 4?", 
"4 contains how many 2's?", "Into how many 2's can you 
separate 4?" and "How many apples are 2 times 2 apples?" 
Vary the last question indefinitely for numerous familiar 
objects. If a pupil fails, send him to the objects to find the 
answer and then let him answer the question he failed on. 
Never omit this, as effort and responsibility are needed to 
make accurate students; and even in the primary grades 
our desire to make the work pleasant for the pupil must 
not lead us to do for him what properly belongs to himself 
to do. 



332 Public School Methods 

The drill should often be extended to cover previous 
lessons. In fact, there are certain things that must be 
learned absolutely, and these cannot be firmly fixed in the 
mind in one or two recitations. Besides, the effect on the 
memory is greater when time elapses between drills. 

The summary is the closing of the lesson, the summing 
up of all the important points, having the class repeat singly 
and in concert the facts that must be remembered. The 
points should still be recalled in order, to aid the memory, 
but all illustrations and non-essentials may be omitted. It 
is really the drill expressed in general terms and should 
always be rapid, earnest, logical and final. 

(c) The Teacher's Preparation. It is assumed that 
every teacher prepares herself for the recitations she is 
to conduct, no matter what the grade of the children. This 
does not mean of necessity that each particular recitation 
must have its special preparation, though often for days at 
a time this may be necessary. But it does mean that no 
teacher can hope to succeed who has not so thoroughly pre- 
pared herself as to be the ready and resourceful master of 
that particular unit of a subject which she expects to teach. 
Sometimes the preparation may be made for a week in 
advance. Sometimes, when classes are numerous, the special 
preparation for one lesson answers for many. But again, 
it may be necessary that many moments of time be taken 
in so close a preparation that the very questions are care- 
fully formulated, and the individuals who are to answer 
them are selected in advance. 

In preparing for recitations the teacher considers care- 
fully the following points: 

(i) The subject-matter of the lesson. This the teacher 
must thoroughly understand, not only in itself but in its 
relations to other things. 

(2) The adaptation of the subject-matter. It is evident 
that primary children cannot have the same grasp of facts 
that older people possess; it is the teacher's duty to select 
those phases of a subject which appeal most strongly to 



School Management 333 

the children's minds and to adapt them carefully to the 
comprehension of the latter. 

(3) The method of presentation. The teacher must 
determine how the chosen subject-matter can be most 
effectively presented; that is, through what senses and in 
what way the child's mind shall be most quickly attracted 
and most firmly held in attention. 

(4) The illustrations to be used. Vivid illustrations, 
suitable to the comprehension of the child and entertain- 
ing to him, serve to fix in his memory the things which 
have been presented and enable him to understand what 
has been presented. 

(5) The materials to be used. Having determined the 
method of presentation and the illustrations to be used, 
the teacher must collect and have available for ready use the 
materials which are to assist in presenting or illustrating 
the subject-matter. For instance, if the lesson is in arith- 
metic, this may mean the blocks, the sticks and whatever 
other objects are used to give the idea of number. 

(6) The relation of this lesson to the whole subject. 
Before the teacher is ready to give proper instruction she 
must realize thoroughly the relation of the particular recita- 
tion to those which have preceded and its possible bearing 
upon those which are to follow. No fact will remain long 
in the mind or be susceptible of explanation unless its rela- 
tions to other facts are understood Unless the teacher 
clearly sees the relation between every lesson and its 
neighbors, she cannot hope to make that relation clear to 
others. 

15. Questioning. A great part of a teacher's success 
depends upon her power to ask and to distribute questions 
correctly, rapidly and skilfully; hence, it is deemed wise to 
discuss this subject at considerable length. 

(a) Characteristics. Questions should be clear, definite 
and concise. They should be framed in plain language, to 
suit the age of the pupils, and asked in logical order. 

Abridged questions may be asked of older pupils, but 



334 Public School Methods 

not so frequently of young children, lest they fail to under- 
stand the meaning. 

Questions should not be indefinite, as the children waste 
time trying to guess which one of several possible answers 
you desire. They should not contain the answer nor a part 
of the answer. That mode makes lazy pupils, for they 
learn to depend upon such help. 

Questions that may be answered by "Yes" or "No" 
should usually be followed at once by the question, "Why?", 
or the direction, " Give your reasons for that answer." Such 
a plan prevents mere guesswork on the part of the pupil. 

Questions should be asked in a pleasant, conversational 
tone, and neither earnestness nor excitement should raise 
the pitch or increase the volume of voice used. 

Relevant questions from members of the class should 
be permitted, but the habit of asking impertinent or flippant 
questions, meant merely to create a laugh, should be promptly 
and firmly suppressed. 

Sometimes allow pupils to take the teacher's place and 
question the class. This is an excellent language drill, is 
much enjoyed and pleasantly breaks the monotony. 

Cautions, (i) To repeat questions breeds inattention 
and wastes the time of the class. 

(2) Do not repeat the answers of pupils; this begets 
inattention, favors lazy pupils, wastes time and nearly 
always shows a lack of preparation on the part of the teacher, 

(3) Do not put questions in a set form. Often a pupil 
will be able to answer the question correctly if the phrase- 
ology is changed, even when he fails to understand as 
first asked. 

(b) Distribution. Begin sometimes at the head of 
the class and question in order to the end. Again, begin 
at the foot of the class and reverse the order. At another 
time begin near the middle of the class and "skip around, " 
being sure not to omit any pupil It is better not to follow 
the same order twice in succession. Question the pupils 
most that most need it. Sometimes ask all or nearly all 



Scliool Management 335 

the questions of one or two pupils, particularly if they are 
habitually inattentive, lacking in preparation, or impertinent. 
As a rule, question the brightest and best prepared pupils 
only enough to keep their interest active. The slow-thinking 
pupil needs more time and is the real test of the teacher's 
success as an instructor. When pupils are abnormally timid 
or self-conscious, ask the easiest questions of them imtil 
they gain courage by their success in answering correctly. 
Then treat them like the rest of the class. 

Cautions, (i) Avoid having any one pupil monopolize 
the time. You belong to the whole class. 

(2) Avoid being led into a discussion that breaks up 
your logical order of questioning — a trick resorted to some- 
times by older pupils who are not prepared upon the lesson 
and who wish to till the time with irrelevant talk. 

(3) Do not permit any pupil to think he has finished 
his part of the recitation when he has answered one ques- 
tion. If you detect signs of inattention or laziness, go back 
again and again to the inattentive pupils, asking them one 
or two questions unexpectedly. 

(4) Ask the question first and then name the pupil who 
is to answer. 

(c) Answers, Pupils should be required to rise promptly, 
stand easily upon both feet and answer the question in a 
clear tone, using correct language. Do not permit such 
slovenly habits as beginning to answer while rising, beginning 
to sit down before the answer is completed, leaning on the 
desk or standing upon one foot, as all these uncouth physical 
habits react upon the mental powers and beget slovenliness 
there. As to the form of answers, let common sense prevail ; 
sometimes require complete sentences for answers and some- 
times but a single word, according to the needs of the ques- 
tion and the attendant circumstances. 

Caution. Many school children acquire a sort of ver- 
nacular made up of street slang which is often so pithy 
and comprehensive that indulgent parents permit its use 
without rebuke. This makes the teaching of correct English 



336 Public School Methods 

doubly difficult for the teacher, whose duty it is rigidly to 
enforce the rule prohibiting slang in the schoolroom against 
both her pupils and herself. 

16. Reviews and Examinations, (a) Reviews. In primary 
grades most of the review work should be oral. In fact, it 
needs to form a part of nearly every lesson and may be 
given either as the introduction of the new lesson or made 
to fill the last moments of the day's lesson preparatory to 
some new phase to be presented on the morrow. It is usually 
better to make no reference to the review when it is given 
daily, but now and then it acts Uke a tonic to say to the 
children, "Tomorrow I shall ask you all the questions I 
can think of about Lesson Three, Do you think you can 
*>U be ready to answer?" 

Sometimes, however, it is best to say, "Tomorrow I shall 
let you write your answers, just as the older classes do. 
The questions will be on Lesson Five." When the recita- 
tion period arrives, the teacher should be prepared with a 
set of easy questions, each of which may as . a rule be 
answered by a single word. Pupils should be required to 
give strict attention, not expecting questions to be repeated. 
Indeed, the teacher should prevent requests for repetition 
by speaking slowly and distinctly and by giving time enough 
for the answers to be completed. Easier questions should 
be given for such a review than in an oral exercise, as the 
mechanical difficulty of writing and spelling the answers 
retards the thinking and reasoning powers in their action. 

Cautions. (i) Such written exercises are pleasantly 
stimulative in their effect upon the little ones, if not hurried 
too much or filled with anxiety by the manner of the teacher. 

(2) Written reviews should not be of daily occurrence 
in the first three grades, because of the expenditure of 
energy they involve. However, this does not preclude brief 
daily written exercises in spelling or language. 

(b) Examinations. Formal examinations should never 
be given in the first three grades, and in all well organized 
systems they are becoming less frequent in the intermediate 



School Management 337 

and grammar grades, the daily tests and frequent reviews 
being relied upon to take their place. 

Some cities have entirely abandoned all formal exami- 
nations, relying upon the daily work alone as a criterion 
for promotions. Neither extreme seems best to use with 
pupils above the primary grade, since some pupils acquit 
themselves well orally and yet are almost wholly unable to 
do themselves credit when writing, while others are so 
embarrassed by having the attention of the class focused 
upon them that they make a very poor oral recitation and 
do themselves great credit in writing. Therefore, in order 
to get nearest to a correct judgment of the actual work of 
the class, it seems wise to have some written tests. 

17. The Amount of Written Work. The time is not far 
in the past when all teachers required too much written 
work from all grades of school children. Even the yotmgest 
classes seemed to spend all or nearly all their time outside 
of recitation with a pencil in hand. No other form of seat 
work was known, and gross injustice was thus done by 
keeping exactly the same sets of muscles and nerves under 
tension for great lengths of time. The reaction came, and 
now in the cities and in most of the progressive schools 
everywhere children are provided with a great diversity of 
seat work, and the amotmt of written work is thus greatly 
reduced. It is safe to say that, even now, care should be 
taken not to require too much written work from young 
pupils, either in school or at home. In fact, no more should 
be demanded than the teacher finds time to examine and 
correct with care. In all written work careful attention 
should be given to position and movement. Pupils should 
not be allowed to violate in their written exercises all the 
principles taught in the writing class. (See page 177, Sec- 
tion 31.) 

18. Marking Papers. There are among teachers two 
extremes in regard to the examination of papers. One 
extreme is the over-conscientious but not over-wise teacher 
who becomes a veritable slave to examination papers, using 



338 Public School Methods 

up each day long hours that she needs for exercise and for 
sleep. At the other extreme is the teacher who has little 
actual sympathy or conscience. She requires the work of 
the pupils, collects the papers and — consigns them to the 
waste-basket without even a glance. 

Neither of these teachers is wise, neither is doing herself 
or her pupils full justice. The real problem is to avoid 
extremes and to avoid needless waste of nervous energy. 
When the teacher reads entirely through every paper every 
day and, faithfully correcting every en'or found, even to 
the last comma, then hands the papers back to the pupils, 
the result is often disheartening in the extreme, for frequently 
the pupil crams the paper into his pocket or tears it up 
without a look at the errors, the correction of which has 
cost his teacher such strain upon eyes and nerves. 

It seems wiser, therefore, to have the ordinary written 
exercises corrected and marked in class as far as may be. 
There are several successful ways of accomplishing this: 

(i) The teacher trusts to the honor of each pupil, gives 
out the correct answer to each question and permits each 
pupil to mark his own paper. 

(2) Beginning with the pupil farthest back in each row, 
papers are passed forward, each pupil marking a classmate's 
paper as the teacher reads the proper answer. Papers may 
also be passed backward, across the aisle and exchanged in 
a number of ways, the pupils marking their neighbors' 
papers. The name of the one who corrects the paper should 
be signed below the name of the original writer, in order 
to forestall any possible temptation to favor a friend or deal 
unfairly with any one. Frequently and unexpectedly the 
papers should be called in and reviewed by the teacher. 

After the papers have been corrected they should be 
returned to the writers and the criticisms noted. With a 
little practice this work can be done quickly and skilfully, 
and in consequence is an excellent training. 

(3) Still another method is to have certain pupils help 
the teacher regularly in correcting papers — in spelling and 



School Management 339 

arithmetic, chiefly, because these require less judgment to 
mark correctly. The best pupils to select for aids arc those 
who are entirely trustworthy and who prepare their own 
work quickly, leaving time upon their hands that must be 
turned to account usefully. 

It is necessary to prevent children and parents from 
thinking too much of the criticism is done by the pupils; 
hence, very frequently the teacher must call in the papers 
and mark them unaided. She need not, however, take 
those of the entire school in any one day, but make a judi- 
cious division as to subjects and classes. In this way she 
can easily learn the exact character of the work of each 
child in all his subjects and still not be overburdened. 

19. Choosing Methods. In methods, as in machinery, 
there is a best way which operates with the least friction, 
without loss of time and without waste of energy. There 
is no one method to cover all subjects noi all parts of the 
same subject. The best a teacher can do is to make herself 
familiar with all methods in good standing among leading 
educators, choosing for her own use the ones best suited 
to the needs of her particular school and its individual pupils. 
Owing to the diversity of circumstances and the tmequal 
powers and attainments of children of the same age, better 
results are generally secured by a wise combination of the 
best elements of several good methods rather than by adher- 
ing rigidly to any one method. 

In the choice of methods these two proverbs will be 
helpful : 

"In the middle way lies safety." 

"Be not the first by whom the new is tried, 
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." 

Caution. New methods are constantly being presented, 
some excellent, some fairly good and some positively bad. 
Examine each with care and without prejudice. Adopt 
nothing new simply because it is new. See first that it has 
the right elements to insure success. On the other hand, 
do not refuse to give up a method simply because it has 



340 Public School Methods 

been used a long time. When convinced that a new method 
is really better, adopt the new and relegate the old to second 
place, or drop it altogether, if fotmd really faulty. 

Reading the best educational journals and educational 
articles in • current magazines and newspapers, attending 
teachers' meetings and visiting good schools will keep 
teachers acquainted with the trend of educational thought 
and the changes projected or accomplished in methods of 
teaching. There is no legitimate excuse for not knowing 
these things as long as one fills the teacher's position. 

20. Order of Procedure. The senses are the avenues 
through which the child gains most of his knowledge. These, 
with certain mental activities, constitute the perceptive 
powers. One of the most important duties of the primary 
teacher is to secure the regular and systematic development 
of these powers, and to do so she must carefully attend to 
the sense- training of the child. Through this training his 
perceptive powers should be so developed that they will 
serve him quickly, accurately and faithfully. 

Each sense within its own peculiar sphere presents 
knowledge that cannot be obtained through any other. 
Therefore, all the senses should be trained. Because the 
eye is so much more qtaickly and easily trained than the 
other organs of sense there is frequently a tendency to rely 
too much upon sight, to the neglect of the other senses. 
The child who receives only eye-training has his powers of 
observation very imperfectly developed. In order to obtain 
a complete knowledge of any object, all of the senses possible 
should be brought to bear upon it. 

The ideas acquired through observation are formed as 
the result of comparison with ideas already in the mind; 
therefore, they develop slowly. It is only as the ideas form 
that they can be expressed ; hence, in order to secure accurate 
expression, the child at first should be given ample time for 
comparison. Repetition of the lessons is also necessary, 
because the child does not obtain a complete idea from a 
single observation. 



School Management 341 

The ideas and processes must be made clear and simple. 
Therefore, the teacher should take great care in preparing 
observation lessons. At first only very simple objects should 
be used, and these should be few in number. Many 
teachers fail to secure the desired results from neglecting 
this precaution. 

In all primary lessons the order should be observation, 
examination (with comparison), and last of all, expression, 
or seeing (perceiving), doing, telling. The success of any 
lesson should be measured by the degree of interest aroused 
and by the depth of the impression made. As it is the 
quality and proper assimilation of food that nourishes the 
body and promotes its healthy growth, rather than the 
quantity eaten, so of all the information brought to the 
mind that alone is of permanent value which is apperceived, 
apperception being to the mind what the assimilation of 
food is to the body. 

Cautions, (i) In the effort of the present day to avoid 
training the memory exclusively, there is danger of not 
training it enough. 

(2) The two laws that dominate memory growth in child- 
hood are the law of association and the law of repetition. 
Power comes from exercise, and impressions are retained 
by repetition as well as by the association of ideas. 

21. Habits of Mental Work. Steps in the development 
of a subject should be arranged in the order of logical depen- 
dence, each new step being the outgrowth of previous ones. 
This is to cultivate an orderly habit of mental work and 
to develop a logical mode of thinking and reasoning. 

See that the habit is formed of filHng every hour with 
something valuable. Develop the child's power of close 
attention as rapidly as can be done without forcing it to 
the point of mental fatigue. He can concentrate his powers 
for but a short time only, and then he must have a com- 
plete change; therefore, make the lessons brief. Aid atten- 
tion by making the lessons full of vivid interest, and change 
often to something entirely different. It is perilous to keep 



342 Public School MetJwds 

the same sets of brain cells working for a prolonged period, 
for they are weak in childhood, and easily exhausted. 

Children surround themselves by a world of "make 
believe," the creation of their own imaginations, in which 
they dwell happily and contentedly. From this fact wise 
teachers draw a lesson and call the imagination into active 
use in the daily routine of the schoolroom, through it con- 
verting the dullest work into a happy game. When some- 
thing especially difficult is to be memorized, the frequent 
"make believes," so delightful to children, will in no way 
conflict with the development of the habit of attention so 
necessary to success. On the contrary, this habit is more 
easily established by being converted from a difficult, dis- 
tasteful task into a genuine pleasure. For example, the 
teacher may have in mind the strengthening of special muscles 
of the body by means of particular exercises that call these 
muscles into use. To enter into a discussion of the physical 
laws involved and the necessity for such and such move- 
ments would be an utter waste of time. The children neither 
comprehend nor care for the technique of physical culture. 
But the rhythm and activity and novelty they enjoy and 
enter into with quick appreciation. Hence, the teacher 
wisely omits the lecture, with its dull explanations, and 
simply calls upon all the children to skip around the room 
as lambs do; to let their hands be butterflies flitting and 
fluttering in the air; to play they are housekeepers and have 
the rugs to pick up, shake vigorously and replace upon the 
floor; or they may make (imaginary) snowballs and throw 
them hard at one another. If this last exercise calls forth 
a "make believe" terror that induces much dodging of the 
balls (?) and ends in a good laugh, all the better. Happi- 
ness is the best atmosphere for work — and the muscles have 
had the exercise the teacher considered necessary. (See 
Volume One, pages 177-186, Sections 17-23.) 

Cautions, (i) Teachers should allow the formation of 
no habit of thought or work that must afterward be cor- 
rected. Prevention is vastly easier than cure. 



School Management 343 

(2) "Make haste slowly," being careful not to heap up 
difficulties. "One step at a time" is all the child can take, 
and each step should give him added strength and self- 
reliance. 

(3) Do not allow pupils of any grade to waste time or 
to work lazily. 

TEST QUESTIONS 

1. What contagious diseases should the teacher guard 
against? What are the best means of prevention at the 
teacher's disposal? 

2. Why are charts made by the teacher usually more 
valuable than those purchased? What material is needed 
for making these charts? 

3. Of what advantage are suitable decorations for the 
schoolroom ? Give a plan for decorating a room with autumn 
leaves and grains. 

4. What is the purpose of reviews? How should they 
be conducted in the first grade? In the third grade? 

5. State the characteristics of a good question? Give 
questions on teaching the table of 5 's in multiplication to a 
second grade class. 

6. What is the chief purpose of a temporary program? 
In what respects will the permanent program differ? 

7. At what periods in the day should the most difficult 
work be given? Give reasons for your answer. 

8. What are the chief divisions of a recitation? Which 
of the mental powers is most directly appealed to in each 
division ? 

9. What is the tendency in regard to formal examina- 
tions? Is the tendency a good one? Give reasons for your 
answer. 

10. By what should the teacher be guided in choosing 
methods of presenting her subjects? What is the difference 
between methods and devices? 



INDEX 



Roman Numerals I and II refer to Volumes. 



Abbreviations, teaching use of, 1. 152-153. 

Absence, I, 11. 

Accidents, II, 308-309. 

Action Sentences, in reading, I, 34. 

Addition, in first year, I, 213, 218-223, 
227-229; in second year, illustrative 
lessons, 237-241- 

Adventure. See Travel. 

Aids, books for teachers, I, 23, 122-123, 
i6o-i6i, 173-174, 186-187, 202, 230- 
231. 31S-316, 335. 343. 348-349: II. 
35-36, 153, .182, 231-232, 246, 283-284; 
books for pupils, 123; number games, 
230-231. 

Alphabet, The, how taught: in first year, 
I. 39-40; in second year, 98-99. 

Alphabet Method, in teaching reading, I. 
25-26. 

Angelus, The, study of, II, 8-9. 

Animal Life, first year study of: pur- 
pose, I, 286; observations, 286-287. 
Second year study, 289. Type studies: 
the robin, 292-294; the squirrel, 296- 
306. Scope of study, 318-319: condi- 
tions of study contrasted, 319-320: 
teacher's preparation, 320; study of 
birds, 320-335; study of insects, 33s- 
343; study of animals. 343-3491 H. 20* 
subject for drawing lessons, 140-144, 
150; protection of, 265-266. 

Animals, familiar kinds, I, 343-344: pre- 
paring for winter, 344; the rabbit, 344- 
346; the goat, 346-347; the cow, 347; 
protection of wild animals, 347-349. 

Answers, requisite qualities of, II, 335- 
336. 

Ants, study of, I, 341-342. 

Apparatus, for nature study, I, 283-284; 
for school, provision and care of, II, 
312; pointers, 312; erasers, 312; black- 
board curtain, 313; charts, 313-314; 
other items, 314- 

Arbor Vitae, recognition of, I, 308. 

Arithmetic. See Number Work. 

Articulation, drills in, I, 119-122. 

Association, law of, II, 163-164. 



Baby Dear, words and music, I, 193. 
Bacheller, Irving, extract from Darrell 



OF THE Blessed Isles, I, 13. 

Bag in the Square, I, 181. 

Ball and Bean Bas Games, I, 181. 

Bean Bag, games with, I, 181; construc- 
tion work, II, 48-49. 

Bed, construction work, II, 64. 

Biographies, I, 137, 169. 

Birds, importance of study of, I, 320- 
321; protection of, 321; food for, 321- 
325; recognition of, 325-326; meadow 
lark, 326-327: flicker, 327; crow, 327- 
328; duck, 328-329; suggestive studies, 
329-330; how to help birds, 330; bird 
lore, 330-331; nests and nesting time, 
331-333; migration, 333-334; books 
for teachers, 334-335; subject for 
drawing lessons, II, 136. 

Blackboard, The, extent of, II, 293-294; 
quality, position, care of, 294; curtain 
for, 313. 

Blackboard Lessons, in reading, subjects 
for, I, 46-47; how long continued, 47- 
49; in penmanship, II, 173-174. 

Blood, The, lessons on, II, 205. 

Boat, construction work, II, 77. 

Body, parts of the, II. 191. 

Bones, The, study of, II, 204-205. 

Books, introduction of, in reading class, 
I. 49; for reference in nature study, 
283: for school library. II, 314-316; 
first exercises in constructing, 47-48; 
for seeds, 55-56; for quotations, 64; 
of flowers, 65; of trees, 69; of leaves, 
69-70: of birds, 75; covers for, 98. 

Books for Teachers, Discipline, I, 23; 
Reading, 122-123; Language, 160- 
161: Story Telling, 173-174; Games 
and Plays, 186-187: Songs, 202; 
Number Work, 230; Nature Study, 

315-316. 334-335. 343. 348-349: GEOG- 
RAPHY, II, 35-36; Drawing, 153; 
Spelling and Penmanship, 182; 
Music, 231-232; Use of the Senses, 
246: Moral Training, 283-284. 

Borders, for decoration. II, 317. 

Boxes, construction work: triangular, II, 
50-51; four-cornered, 77; square, 115. 

Breathing, exercises in, I, 96-97; H. 189- 



34.5 



346 



Index 



Brook Basin, type study of, II, 11-13. 

Brown, Elmer E., quoted, II, 257- 

Bulbs, type study of, I, 294-296. 

Busy Work, II, 325-327. 

Butterfly, The, distinguished from moths, 
I, 336; the caterpillar, 336; outline for 
lesson on, 337-338; questions on 
mourning cloak, 338; butterfly sea- 
sons, 339-340. 

Butterflies Hide and Seek, The, words 
and music, 1, 197-198. 

Calendar. See Weather Calendar. 

Capitals, rules for, in first year, I, 32; 
in second year, 78. 

Catalogues, illustrated, for nature study, 
I, 283. 

Caterpillars, butterfly and moth, I, 336: 
food for, 337; formation of chrysalis, 
337- 

Cawston Farm, The, II, 18. 

Chains, paper, construction work, II, 50. 

Chair, construction work, 11, 63-64. 

Charts, use of, in first year reading, I, 
41-42; in number work, 220-222; for 
nature study, 284; for plant study, II. 
22, 24; construction of, 313-314. 

Christinas Studies, construction work, II, 
45. 49-50. 54, 66; art work, 114- 
118. 

Christmas Tree Ornaments, construction 
work, II, 45. 49-5°. 54- 

Chrysalis, distinguished from the cocoon, 
I, 336; formation of the. 337. 

Citizen and Tribune Plan of Pupil Govern- 
ment, II. 280-283 

Climate, third grade, study of. II, 25-26. 
See Weather. 

Climbers, The, words and music, I, 200. 

Coasting, words and music, I, 189. 

Cocoons, distinguished from chrysalis, I, 
336; box for, 339. 

Color-Scheme, in schoolroom. II. 317. 

Combination Method, in teaching read- 
ing. See Eclectic Method. 

Compositions, plays orally composed, I, 
139; in third year, 151; original, 157- 
158: sense factor in, II, 239. 

Conduct, proper and improper, II, 277- 
279. 

Construction Work, educational value, 
11.37; adaptability of course, 3 7 ; mate- 
rials, 37; relative value of results, 38; 
teacher's preparation, 38-39. First 
year: paper cutting, 39-40; prelimi- 



nary exercises, 40-43; fruits, veg- 
etables and animal forms, 43-44; 
Thanksgiving dinner table, 44-45; 
furniture and utensils, the house, 45- 
46; spring work, 46; exercises in 
stitching, 46-47; autumn work, 47-49; 
Christmas tree ornaments, 49-So; 
triangular box, 50-51; match scratcher, 
si; valentines, 51-52; Easter eggs, 
May baskets, cover for drawings, 52. 
Second year: nature of work. 53: 
fruits and vegetables, trees. Puritan 
poster, 53; village, 53-54; Santa Glaus, 
Christmas tree poster, 54; winter 
sports, 54-55 ; poses and games, ss: 
books for seeds. 55-56; pumpkin 
masks, 56; braiding and cording raffia, 
56-58; colonial cradle, raffia napkin 
ring, 58; woven holder, 59; sewing bag 
S9-6o; screen, 60-61; soldier's cap, 61- 
63; table, 63; chair, 63-64; bed, Easter 
rabbit, books for quotations, 64; books 
of flowers, 65. Third year: nature of 
work, 6s, animals and figures, 65; 
wagons and parade, Santa Glaus, gar- 
dening, 66; farm, 66-69; envelope, book 
of trees, 69; book of leaves, 69-70; 
Thanksgiving dinner cards, 70; post 
card album, 70-71; sled, 71; picture 
frame, 71-72; flower pot cover, 72; 
woven purse, 72-73; valentines, 73-74; 
Easter greetings, 74; kite, 74-75; May 
basket, book of birds, 75; additional 
foldings, 75-77; doll's house, 77-79- 

Contagious Diseases, II, 31C-312. 

Cornucopias, construction work, II, so. 

Counting, children's interest in, I, 205- 
206: first year lessons in, 209; devices 
for, 212-214; lesson in counting by 
tens, 227-230; in second year, 232, in 
third year, 279. 

Cover, for drawings, II, 52. 

Cow, The, study of, I, 347. 

Cradle, colonial, construction work, II, 
58. 

Crayons, II, 82, 171. 

Creamery, visit to a, II. 29. 

Crickets, study of, I, 342-343- 

Criticism, in reading class, rules for, I, 
74; by pupils, 74-76, 103-104. 

Crow, The, study of, I, 327-328. 

Crow Race, I, 179. 

Curtains, for blackboards, II, 313: of 
colored paper chains, 320; of beads 
and straw, 320. 



Index 



347 



Cutting, exercises in: first year, I, 39- 
52: second year, 53-65; third year, 65- 
79; freehand, 104, 130. 

Daily, Nellie E., extract from Primary 
Education, I, 339. 

Deciduous Trees, recognition of, I, 307. 

Decimals, I, 277-279. 

Decorations, for school grounds, II, 294- 
295. For schoolroom! purpose and 
principles, 316, color-scheme, 317; 
borders. 317! pictures, 317-320; speci- 
mens, curtains, plants, flowers, 320; 
general requisites, 320-321. 

Denominate Numbers, reduction of, I. 
266; illustrative lesson, 267-269. 

Development, of subject for recitation, 
II. 330. 

Diacritic Marks, I, 86-89. 

Discipline, defined, I, 1-3; ideals, 3-5; 
ends of, 5; habits, 5-7; order and dis- 
order, 7-8; whispering, 8-10; thieving. 
lo-ir; tardiness and absence, 11; rest- 
lessness, 12-13; obedience, 13; rules or 
laws, 13-16; need of more sympathy, 
16; maxims and proverbs, 16-17; 
happiness as a factor, 17-18; causes 
of disorder, 18-20; silent influences, 
20-21; punishment for primary grades, 
21-22; rewards and prizes, 22; sum- 
mary, 22-23; books for aid in dis- 
cipline, 23. 

Disorder. See Order and Disorder. 

Division, illustrative lessons, second year, 
I. 250-256; short division, 253-256. 

Doll's House, construction work, II, 77- 
79. 

Drainage, study of, II, 27- 

DramaUc Instinct, in children, I, 163. 

Dramatization, The Lion and the Mouse, 
I, 80-8 r; in third year reading class. 
104: oral composition of plays, 139; 
use and abuse, 163; dramatic instinct 
and dramatic talent, 163; general 
directions, 163-165; material, 165; 
illustrative lesson, 165-166; in third 
grade, 166-167; of stories, 172-173; of 
songs, 187-188. 

Drawing, correlated with language, I, 
139; aim of lessons, II, 80; arrangement 
of plan, 80-81; materials, 81-82; sup- 
plies and supply houses, 83. Septem- 
ber: first week, decorating school- 
room, lessons in color, use of water 
colors, 84-86; second week, free illus- 



tration, figure drawing, 86-90; third 
week, study of grasses, memory 
drawings, 90; fourth week, flower 
painting, memory lessons, exhibits, 
90-93. October: nature walks, 94 
first week, autumn weeds, seat work 
94-96; second week, autumn leaves 
book cover, 96-98; third week, trees 
landscapes, illustrating poem, 98-99 
fourth week, fruits, modeling, 99-101 
November: preparatory work, 102 
first week, fruits and vegetables, cut- 
ting and modeling, 102-104; second 
week, outdoor studies, illustrating 
reading lessons, 104-105; third week, 
special events; fourth week, prepara- 
tion for Thanksgiving, 106-109. 
December: nature and picture study, 
no; first week, winter sports, iio- 
112; second week, winter landscape, 
1 1 2- 114; third week, preparations for 
Christmas, 1 14-1 16. January: first 
week, toys, 116-118; second week, 
object drawing, the pencil, 118; third 
week, object drawing, 118-120; fourth 
week, object drawing, 120-122. Feb- 
ruary: preparation for special days, 
122-124; first week, receding lines, 
124-126; second week, perspective; 
Lincoln's birthplace, valentines, 126- 
127; third week, national flag, sol- 
dier's hat and figure, 127-128; fourth 
week, illustrated stories, 128. March: 
month of awakening, 129; first week, 
illustrated poems, paper cutting, 129- 
130; second week, birds and branches, 
130-132; third week, studies in figures, 
132; fourth week, outdoor studies, 
picture study, 132-134. April: spring- 
time, 134-136; first week-, study in 
birds, bird booklet, 136; second week, 
garden scenes, 136-138; third week, 
spring landscape, 138; fourth week, 
spring flowers, May baskets, 138-140. 
May: animal life, 140-142; first week, 
study of animals, designs, 142-144; 
stained glass effects, 144; third and 
fourth weeks, articles for the home, 
144-146. June: annual exhibition, 
148; first week, invitations, 148-150; 
second week, outdoor studies, animal 
studies, flags, 150; third week, art 
portfolio, 150-151. Picture study: 
value, 151-152; method, 152; selection 
of pictures, 152-153; aids, 153; corre- 



348 



Index 



lated with spelling, 164; sense factor 
in, »44-24S. 
Dream Peddler, The, words and music, 

I. 195- 

Drill, in punctuation, I, 77; for articula- 
tion, X 19- 1 22; general character of. 

II. 330-332- 

Duck, The, study of, I, 328-329. 

Ear-Minded Children, I, 45. 

Ears, The, parts, II. 197-198; care of, 
198-199; tests of, 235-236. 

Ear Training, Sharp Ears game, I, 83; 
the Wonder Box, 83-84; associating 
sound and symbol, 84-86; suggestive 
lessons for, 90-92. 

Easter Subjects, for construction work; 
eggs, II, 52; rabbit, 64; greetings, 74. 

Eclectic Method, or combination method, 
in reading, I, 28. 

Emergencies, accidents, II, 308-309; in- 
clement weather, 309-310; precautions 
against fire, 310; contagious diseases, 
310-312. 

Emotions, moral influence of, II, 251. 

Entertainments, II, 315. 

Enrelope, construction work, II, 48, 69. 

Eraser Race, I, 179-180. 

Erasers. II, 312. 

Evergreens, common, recognition of, I, 
308-309; lending interest to study of, 
309. 

Exaggeration, how corrected, II, 273. 

Examinations, II, 336-337- 

Exhibitions of art work, II, 93, 148; of 
penmanship, 178-179; of general school 
work, 320-321. 

Experiments, in study of minerals, I, 
287. 

Expression, in reading, I, 72-73; in in- 
terpreting music, II, 224. 

Eye- Minded Children, I, 45. 

Eyes, The, protective parts, II, 193-194; 
visible parts of, 194; care of, 194-196; 
tests of, 236. 

Fables, I, 81-82. no. 

Fairy Tales, I. 168. 

Fall Work, in nature study. I, 314-315. 

Farm, The, construction work, II. 66-69. 

Farmer in the Dell, The, words and 

music. I. 196. 
Farming, lessons on, II, 29. See 

Ostrich Farming. 
Finger Nails, The, function, II, 199; 

care of, 199-200. 



Fire, precautions against. II. 310. 

Firs, recognition of. I. 308. 

First Year Reading. See Reading. 

Flag, the national, subject for art work, 
II, 127-128, 150; for decoration, 320. 

Flicker, The, study of, I, 327. 

Flower Pot Cover, construction work, II, 
72. 

Flowers, study of: wild, I, 311-312, 313, 
314; cultivated, 312, 313, 314; for 
school grounds, 312; II, 294; for 
schoolroom, I, 312-313; II, 320. 

Flying Cloud, I, 178. 

Folding, exercises in: first year, II. 47- 
48, 50-52; second year, SS-S6. s8, 60- 
6s; third year, 69-71, 75-79- 

Follow Your Leader, I, 179. 

Food, for birds, I, 321-325; for cater- 
pillars. 33 7- 

Foods, lessons on. II, 29. 

Foot, The, study of. II. 202. 203-204. 

Foreigners, teaching English to. I. 153- 
iS6. 

Foreign Lands, I. 105; study of. 106- 
109. 

Form, in penmanship, II, 169; devices 
for teaching forms, 169-170. 

Fountain, The, words and music, I, 189. 

Four Winds, The, II, 14- 

Fractions, first year, lesson in, I, 223- 
224. Second year, lesson to develop 
rule for finding a fraction of any 
number, 256-258; lesson to develop 
relation between fourths and eighths, 
258-259; suggestions for teaching one- 
half of five, one-half of seven, etc., 
260. Third year, addition, illustra- 
tive lesson, 269-273; decimals, 277- 
279- 

Friday Program, The, II, 327-328. 

Furniture, cut from paper: general 
directions, II, 45; the house, 4S-46; 
colonial cradle. 58; screen, 60-61; 
table. 63; chair. 63-64; bed. 64; doll's 
house, 77-79. For the school, II, 292- 
294- 

Games and Plays. Language games, I, 
138-139; general purposes, 17S-177; 
relation of play to work, 177; selec- 
tion of, 177; method of procedure, 
177-178; miscellaneous games, 178- 
179; marching games, 179; races, 179- 
180; rhythm games, 180-181; ball and 
bean bag games, 181; games for train- 
ing powers of observation. 181-186; 



Index 



349 



other common games, i86; books for 
teachers, 186-187; number games, 230- 
231; represented in paper cutting, II, 
S4-SS- 

Gardening, subjects from, for paper cut- 
ting, II, 46, 66. > 

Gardens, for nature study: on school 
grounds, I, 312; in schoolroom, 312- 
313. Scenes from, for drawing stu- 
dies, II, 136-138. See Schoolroom 
Gardens. 

Geography, place of, in primary grades, 
II, i; material, 1-3; teacher's prepara- 
tion, 5-s; outdoor studies, s-6; study 
of types, 6-8; the potato, 8-1 1; a 
brook basin, 11-13; the wind, 13-16; 
ostrich farming, 16-19; reviews, 19- 
20; work for first and second grades, 
20-23; work for third grade, 23-28; 
suggestive lessons for primary pupils, 
28; suggestive lessons for third grade, 
28-29; relation to history, 30; books 
for teachers, 35-36; correlated with 
physiology, 187; sense factor in, 241- 

243- 

Ginger Cat, The, words and music, I, 

201. 
Goat, The, study of, I, 346-347. 
Government, local, study of, II, 244. 
Grades, two or more in a room, II, 323. 
Grenfell, Helen L., extract from address, 

II. 2S3. 
Grouping, in reading, I. 9S-96. 
Grover, Edwin, extracts from the 

Teacher's Creed, I, 5. 

Habits, I, 5-7; bad, in reading, 97-!>8: 

of mental work, II, 34I-343- 
Halves, Thirds and Fourths, lesson on. 

I, 223-224. 

Hand, The, study of, II, 202, 203. 
Handkerchief Case, construction work, 

II. 75. 

Happiness, a factor in discipline, I, 17- 

18. 
Head, parts of the, II. 192-193- 
Heating Apparatus, II, 288-289. 
Hektograph, The, I. s6-57- 
Helpers, appointment and service of, II, 

322- 
Hemlocks, recognition of, I, 308. 
Hens and Chickens, construction work, 

II. 46. 
Heredity, moral influence of, II, 250- 

251- 



Hiawatha, story of, II, 32-33; subject 
for art work, 106, 107. 

Historical Stories, I, 137, 169. 

History, relation to geography, II, 30; 
lesson on modes of travel, 30-32; In- 
dian life: story of Hiawatha, 32-35; 
sense factor in, 243-244. See Ikdian 
Life. 

Holder, construction work: sewed, II, 
49; woven, 59. 

Home, The, decreased influence of, II, 
249; agent in moral training, 253-254. 

Home Geography, study of. II, 23-24. 

Honesty, development of, II. 274-276. 

House, The, subject for construction 
work, II, 45-46; doll's house, 77-79- 

Human Element, in geography lessons, 
II, 2. 

Hygiene, teaching of. II, 185-186. 

Ideals, in discipline, I, 3-5; of children, 
how formed, II, 252. 

Illustration, free, II, 86-88; of poems, 
99. 129; of reading lessons, 104-105; 
of stories, 128. 

Imaging Power, -»ralue of, in spelling, II, 
163. 

Imitation, in music study, II, 214-216. 

Incentives, to reading, nature of, I, 64- 
65; how used, 65-67. 

Inclement Weather, care of children 
during, II, 309-310. 

Indian Life, the story of Hiawatha, II, 
32-33; the Indian's dress, 33; houses, 
33-34; the Indian baby, 34; work, 34- 
35; modes of transportation, 35- 
amusements, 35; subject for art work, 
106, 107. 

Indian Lullaby, words and music, I, 194- 
195- 

Industries, first hand study of, II, 242- 
243- 

Industry, training in, II, 276-277. 

Influences, silent, I, 20-21. 

Ingersoll, Ernest, extracts from Nature 
Calendar, I, 334. 339-341- 

Initials, teaching use of, I, 152. 

Ink, for ijenmanship lessons, II, 172. 

Insects, important facts concerning, I, 
335-336; distinguishing butterflies 
from moths, 336; butterfly and moth 
caterpillars, 336; caterpillar food, 337; 
formation of chrysalis, 337; outline for 
butterfly lesson. 337-338; questions on 
mourning cloak, 338; box for cocoons, 



350 



Index 



339; butterfly seasons, 339-34°; prep- 
aration for winter, 340-341; ants, 341- 
342; crickets, 342-343: helps, 343. 

Interpretation, in music, definition, 11, 
222-233; methods, 323-224. 

In the Spring, words and music, I. 198- 
199- 

Invitations, art work, II 148. 

Jack and Jill, words and music, I, 200. 
Janitor Service, II. 307 
Joints, The, study of, II, 202-203. 
Journeys, I, 137. See Travel and Ad- 
venture. 
Jumping Jack, I. 181. 

Kindness, training in, II, 264; toward 
schoolmates and friends, 264; toward 
animals, 265-266; proper treatment of 
plants, 266. 

Kite, construction work, II, 74. 

Knowledge, dependence upon senses, II, 
233-234- 

Koehler, Martha, extract from School 
Education, I, 337. 

Language, problem stated, I, 125; first 
step, 125-126; child's equipment, 126- 
127; teacher's part, 127-128; every 
lesson a language lesson, 128; relation 
to other subjects, 128-129; undesirable 
lessons and their correctives, 129; 
oral reproduction. 129-130; similes 
and metaphors. 130-131; methods 
illustrated, 131; suggestive exercises. 
131-133; other phases of oral repro- 
duction, 133-135; technical forms. 
135-137; historical stories, biographies 
and journeys, 137; language games. 
138-139; oral composition of plays. 
139; language and drawing. 139; 
written language, 139-140; steps in 
written work, 140-142. Picture les- 
sons, general suggestions, 143; last 
month of first year, 143-145; latter 
part of second year, 145; third grade, 
146-148. Rhythm and rhyme, 133; 
second year, 145-146; third year, 152. 
Other lesson subjects, 148. Language 
through literature, 148. Written re- 
views: last part of first year, 148- 
149; latter part of second year. 149; 
last part of third year, 150-152. 
Initials and abbreviations, 152-153: 
teaching English to foreigners, 153- 
156; letter writing. 156-158; memor- 



izing selections, 158-160; teachers' 
aids, 160-161; correlated with number 
work, 214; correlated with physiology, 
II. 187. 

Language Games, I, 138-139- 

Lanterns, construction work, II, 49; 
crayon studies of, 1 20. 

Law, counteracting disregard for, II, 
248-249- 

Law of Association, The. See Asso- 
ciation. 

Laws. See Rules 

Leaves, study of, I, 314-315- 

Legends, I, 81-82, 110. 

Lettei Writing, I, 156-157. 

Lighting, II. 291. 

Limbs, The, parts and uses of. II. 202. 

Lincoln, Abraham, quoted, II, 248. 

Lion and the Mouse, The, dramatization 
of, I, 80-81. 

Literature, for second year reading class, 
I, 78-82; for third year reading class, 
iro-114; racial, 115-117; basis of lan- 
guage lessons, 148; extracts for mem- 
orizing, 158-160; selections for nature 
study. 293, 306-307, 328, 329, 331. 
338. 342. 345. 347; use of, in teach- 
ing physiology, II, 206; for Friday 
program, 327; for special days, 329. 

Little Farmers, words and music, I, 190. 

Little Red Riding Hood, I, 51-52; read- 
ing lesson based on, 52-53- 

Lore of Country, how cultivated, II, 
280. 

Lullabies, Baby Dear, I, 193: Indian 
Lullaby, 194-195; The Dream Ped- 
dler, 195. 

Lunches, II. 307-308. 

Lying, nature and causes of, II, 271- 
272; how corrected. 272-273. 

Magazines, list of. for bird study, I, 

335; for school library, II, 315. 
Management. See School Manage- 
ment. 
Maps, study of, II, 25. 
Marching Games, I, 179. 
Market Gardening, study of, II, 28-29. 
Marking Papers, methods for, II, 337- 

339. 
Match Scratcher, construction work, II, 

Si- 
Maxims and Proverbs. I, 16-17- 
May Baskets, construction work, II, 52. 
75; art work, 140. 



Index 



351 



Meadow Lark, The, study of. I. 336-327. 

Measurement, illustrative lesson in, I, 
209-212; lessons to cultivate ability 
to judge measurements, 215-217. 

Memorizing Selections, I, 158-160. ^ 

Mental Work, habits of. See Habits. 

Metaphors, use and study of, I, 130-131. 

Methods, choice of, II, 339-340. 

Microscope, for nature study, I, 284. 

Migration, of birds, I, 333-334. 

Miller, Mary Rogers, extract from Home 
Study Nature Course, I, 338. 

Minerals, first year study of: purpose, 
I, 287: observations, 287; experi- 
ments, 287-288. 

Modeling, II, loo-iot, 104. 

Morad Act, nature of a, II, 250. 

Moral Sense, lack of development, II, 
249- 

Moral Training, necessity for, II. 248- 
250; factors in the problem, 250. In- 
ternal agencies: nature of moral act, 
250; heredity, 250-251; emotions, 251; 
the will, 251-252; experiences, 252; 
ideals, 252. External agencies: im- 
portance, 252-253; the home, 253-254; 
society, 254-256; schoolhouse and 
grounds, 256; the schoolroom, 256- 
257; the school, 257-258; daily lessons, 
258; the teacher, 258-259. Methods: 
underlying principles, 259-260; a good 
beginning, 260; general school regime, 
260-261; special lessons, 261-262; 
politeness, 262-264; kindness, 264- 
266; reverence, 266-267; promptness, 
267-268; obedience, 268-269; respon- 
sibility, 269-271; truthfulness, 271-274; 
honesty, 274-276; industry, 376-277; 
conduct, 277-279; self-control, 279; 
love of country, 280; pupil govern- 
ment, 280-283; aids, 283-284. 

Moth, The, distinguished from the 
butterfly, I, 336; moth caterpillars, 
336. 

Mothers' Meetings, II, 308-311. 

Mourning Cloak, questions on the, I, 
338. 

Mouth, The, II, 196-197- 

Movement, in penmanship, II, 1 70-1 71. 

Multiplication, in first year, lesson in, I. 
224-227. In second year, illustrative 
lessons: simple multiplication, 243- 
247; "carrying" process, 247; multi- 
plier of two figures, 247-25°- 

Music, aim of, in public schools, II, 311; 



material, aia; care of children's 
▼oices, 213-2x3; general principles of 
methods, 313-314; imitation, 314-216; 
recognition of tone, 216-318; repre- 
sentation of tone, 3i8-23o; recognition 
of rhythm, 220; representation of 
rhythm, 221-322; interpretation, 222- 
334; order of development, 234-230; 
general suggestions, 230-331; books 
for teachers, 231-232. 
Myths, I, 81-82, no. 

Napkin Ring, raffia, II, 58. 

Napkins, paper, construction work, II, 
48. 

Natural Forces, study of: first year, I, 
288; second year, 289-290. 

Nature Calendar, outline from, for bird 
study, I, 334; extracts from, for in- 
sect study, 339-341. 

Nature Stories, I, 168-169. 

Nature Study, educational purposes, I, 
282; why important, 282-283; appar- 
atus needed, 283-284. First year: 
plant life, 285-286; animal life, 286- 
287; minerals, 287-288; natural forces, 
288; the weather, 288. Second year: 
plant life, 289; animal life, 289; nat- 
ural forces, 289-290; weather condi- 
tions, 290. Third year: the work 
expanded, 290-291. Type studies: 
our tree, 291-292; the robin, 292-294; 
bulbs, 294-296; the squirrel, 296-306. 
Other lessons: literature, 306-307; 
recognition of deciduous trees, 307; 
recognition of common evergreens, 
308-309; evergreens made interesting, 
309; reviews, 309-311; regular study 
by seasons, 311; spring study, 311- 
312; schoolroom gardens, 312-313; 
summer work, 313-314; fall work, 314- 
31s; winter work, 315; aids, 31S-316. 
Study of animal life, 318-319; condi- 
tions of study contrasted, 319-320; 
teacher's preparation, 320. Birds: 
importance of studying. 320-321; pro- 
tection of, 321; food for, 321-325; 
recognition of, 325-326; meadow lark, 
326-327; flicker. 327; crow, 327-328; 
duck. 328-329; suggestive studies, 
329-330; how to help birds, 330; bird 
lore, 330-331; nests and nesting time, 
331-333; migration, 333-334; books 
for teachers, 334-335- Insects: im- 
portant facts, 335-336; distinguishing 



35^ 



Index 



butterflies from moths, 336; butterfly 
and moth caterpillars, 336-337; cater- 
pillar food, 337; formatioil of chrys- 
alis, 337; outline for butterfly lessons, 
337-338; questions on mourning cloak, 
338; box for cocoons, 339; butterfly 
seasons, 339-340; insect preparation 
for winter, 340-341; ants, 341-342; 
crickets, 342-343; helps, 343- Ani- 
mals: familiar kinds, 343-344; ani- 
mals preparing for winter, 344; the 
rabbit, 344-346; the goat, 346-347; 
the cow, 347; protection of wild ani- 
mals, 347-348; books for teachers, 
348-349. Correlated with geography. 
II. 20, 23-24; correlated with physi- 
ology, 168-187; sense factor in. 245- 

Neck, The, parts of, II, 201. 

Nests and Nesting Time, study of, I, 331- 
333- 

Nose, The, parts of, II, 196; care of, 196. 

Note Books, for nature study, I, 284- 

Number Cards, I, 220-221. 

Number Circle, I, 236-237. 

Number Concept, origin of the, I, 205- 
207. 

Number Facts, for primary grades, I, 
23S-236. 

Number Pictures, I, 213. 

Number Work, first year: adaptation 
of methods, I, 204; value, 204-205; 
origin of number concept, 205-207; 
methods in vogue, 208; ground cov- 
ered, 208-209; plan, 209; lesson in 
measurement, 209-212; devices for 
counting, 312-214; correlation of 
number and language, 214; lessons to 
cultivate ability to judge measure- 
ments, 215-217; lesson to secure 
rapidity and accuracy in combina- 
tion and separation of small numbers, 
218-219; use of charts, 220-222; lesson 
in written work, 222-223; lesson on 
halves, thirds and fourths, 223-224; 
lesson in multiplication, 224-227;lesson 
in use of ruler, 227; lesson in count- 
ing by tens, 227-230; correlation of 
number work with other studies, 230; 
aids, 230-231. Second year: work 
of, 232; facts that the teacher should 
remember, 232-233; order of pro- 
cedure. 233-235; primary number 
facts, 235-236; devices, 236-237; illus- 
trative lessons: addition, 237-241; 
subtraction, 241-243; simple multipli- 



cation, 243-247; multiplication in- 
volving "carrying process," 247; mul- 
tiplication with multiplier of two 
figures, 247-250; division, 250-256; 
developing rule for finding fraction 
of any number, 256-258; devel- 
oping relation between fourths and 
eighths, 258-259; finding one-half 
of five, one-half of seven, etc., 260. 
Third year: text-book work: pre- 
liminary steps, preparatory lessons, 
illustrative lesson, 262-266; reduction 
of denominate numbers, illustrative 
lesson, 266-269; addition of fractions, 
illustrative lesson, 269-273; ratio and 
proportion, illustrative lesson, 273- 
276; written work, 276-277; decimals, 
277-279; other features of third year 
work, 279-280; typical problems, 280; 
correlated with physiology, II, 187; 
sense factor in, 240-241. 

Obedience, I, 13; II, 268-^69. 

Observation, games for training powers 
of, I, 181-186; training of, II, 24s- 
246, 340-341. 

Occupation Songs, Little Farmers, I, 
190; The Threshers, igi-192. 

Occupations, studied by geography class, 
II. 27, 28. 

Officials, of schools, II, 297-298. 

Opera Glasses, for nature study, I, 283- 
284. 

Oral Reading, in the first year, I, 37-38; 
in the third year: relation to silent 
reading, 102-103; the critical period, 
103-104; illustrative lesson, 104-109. 

Oral Reproduction, of stories, I, 129-130, 
133-135- 

Order and Disorder, defined, I, 7-8; 
causes of disorder, 18-20. 

Organization, of school, II. 321-322. 

Ostrich Farming, type study of, II, 16- 
19- 

Outbuildings, II, 295- 

Outdoor Studies, in geography, II, s-6. 

Pamphlets, list of, for bird study, I, 335. 

Paper, for art work, II. 81; for penman- 
ship work, 171-172. 

Paper Cutting. See Cutting. 

Paper Folding. See Folding. 

Patrons, of the school, II, 296-297- 

Pen, manner of holding the, II, 212- 
213; for penmanship lessons, 172. 

Pencils, for drawing, II, 81-82; use of, 
118; for penmanship lessons, 171. 



Index 



353 



Penmanship, learning to read writing, 
II, 1 66; what penmanship includes, 
167; aid of sense training, 167; objects 
sought, 167-168; teacher's prepara- 
tion, 168; position, 169; form, 169; 
devices for teaching forms, 169-170; 
movement, 1 70-1 71; material, 171- 
172; ruling and rulers, 172-173; writ- 
ing on blackboard, 173-174; seat les- 
sons, 174-175; plan of work, 17S-177: 
causes of trouble, 177; patience and 
persistence, 177; causes of poor writ- 
ing, 177; time for lesson, 177-178; 
uniformity of handwriting, 178; exhi- 
bition of penmanship, 178-179; how 
much to do, 179; drill exercises and 
counting, 179-182; aids, 182; sense 
factor in, 239-240. 

Penwiper, construction work, II, 49- 

Perception Cards, I. 222. 236. 

Periodicals, II. 314-316. See Maga- 
zines. 

Perspective, study of, II, 126. 

Phonic Method, in teaching reading, I, 
26-27. 

Phonics, for first two grades: a separate 
study, I. 83 ; training ear and tongue, 
83-84; associating sound and symbol, 
84-86; diacritic marks, 86-89; syllabi- 
cation, 89; summary, 89; suggestive 
lessons, 90-92. In third year, 99-100. 

Phrases, New, how taught, I, 63-64- 

Physical Welfare, of pupils, I, 19-20; II, 
304. 

Physiology, teacher's preparation, II, 
184; purpose outlined, 184; hygienic 
results expected, 185-186; correlation 
with other subjects, 186-188; method 
of procedure, 188-189; earliest lessons, 
189-191; parts of body, 191; illustra- 
tive lesson, 191-192; parts of head, 
192-193; the eyes, 193-196; the nose, 
196; the mouth, 196-197; the ears, 
197-199; the finger-nails, 199-200; the 
skin, 200-301: parts of neck and 
trunk, 201-203; the limbs, 202; the 
joints. 202-203; hand and foot, 303- 
204; the bones, 204-205; the blood, 
20s; waste and repair, 205-206: cor- 
related literature, 206; temperance 
physiology, 206-209. 

Picture Frame, construction work, II, 
71-72. 7S- 

Pictures, used in reading lesson, I, is- 
36; language lessons based on, 143- 



148; last month of first year, 143; 
latter part of second year, 145; third 
grade, 146. Picture study: value, II, 
151-152; method, 152; subjects for, 
152-153; aids, 153. The Angelus, 
8-9; pictures of the Christ child, no; 
Millet's paintings, 134; animal paint- 
ers, 142: for decoration, 31 7-318' list 
of appropriate subjects, 318-320. 
Pines, recognition of, I, 308. 
Plan, for recitation, introduction, II, 
329-330; development, 330; dri;i. 330- 
333; summary, 332. 
Plant Life, first year study of: purpose, 
I, ?8s; observations, 285-286; second 
year study, 289. Type studies: our 
tree, 291-293; bulbs, 294-296. Other 
lessons: deciduous trees, 307; ever- 
greens, 308-309; reviews, 309-311; 
study by seasons, 311; spring study, 
311-312; schoolroom gardens, 312- 
< 313; summer work, 313-314; fall work, 
314-315; winter work, 315; aids, 315- 
316; study of plants, II, 20; plant 
charts, 22; protection of, 266; plants 
for schoolroom, 330. 
Playgrounds, II, 295. 
Plays, oral composition of, I, 139. See 

Dramatization. 
Plays. See Games. 
Poetry, for second year reading, I, 78- 

79; for third year reading, 113. 
Pointers, II, 312. 
Politeness, training in, II, 263; at school, 

262-263; at home, 263-264. 
Portfolios, construction of, II, 114, 150- 

iSi- 
Post Card Album, construction work, 

II, 70-71- 
Poster, Puritan, II, 53; Christmas tree, 

54. 
Potato, The, type study of. II. 8-1 1. 
Presto, Change, I, 179- 
Prevarication, II, 273-274. 
Prizes. See Rewards. 
Problems, typical, third year number 

work, I, 280. 
Products, studied by geography class, 

II. 27. 
Program, temporary and permanent, II, 
321; points to be considered, 322- 
333; grades in a room, 323; other 
considerations, 324; for Friday, 327- 
328; special days, 328-329. 
Promptness, how taught, II, 267-268. 



354 



Index 



Pronunciation, local errors in, I, 38-39- 

Proportion. See Ratio. 

Protection, of birds, I, 321; of wild 

animals, 347-349- 
Proverbs. See Maxims. 
Public Buildings, lessons on, II, 27-28. 
Pumpkin Masks, construction work, II, 

S6. 
Punctuation, marks of, I, 31-32; and 

reading, 76-77. 
Punishment, for primary grades, I, 21- 

22. 
Pupil Government, purpose of, II, 280; 

Citizen and Tribune plan, 280-282; 

results obtained, 282-283. 
Pupils, The, differences in, II, 300-301. 
Purse, woven, II, 72-73. 

Questioning, characteristics, II, 333-334; 

distribution, 334-33S; answers, 335- 

336. 
Quotations, books for, II, 64- 

Rabbit, The, study of, I, 344-346. 

Races, I, 179-180. 

Racial Literature, I, 115-116. 

RaflBa, braiding, II, 56-58; cording, 58; 
napkin ring, 58. 

Ratio and Proportion, illustrative lesson, 
I, 273-276. 

Ray, John T., Citizen and Tribune plan 
of pupil government, II, 280-283. 

Readers, how used, I, 82-83. 

Reading, first year: importance of, I, 
25; methods for, 25-29; early lessons, 
29-32; later lessons, 33-37; oral, 37- 
38; local errors in pronunciation, 38- 
39; the alphabet, 39-40; from script 
to print, 40-41; chart making, 41-42; 
adaptation of method to school, 42- 
45; blackboard lessons, 46-49; intro- 
duction to books, 49; supplementary 
reading, 49-Si ; preparation of a lesson, 
51-53; reviews, 53-56; the hektograph, 
56-57. Second year: need of reviews, 
59-60; value of supplementary read- 
ing, 60-61; need of preparing lessons, 
6i; contrast with first year condi- 
tions, 61-63; new phrases, 63-64; in- 
centives, 64-67; teaching children to 
study, 67-68; application of theory, 
68-72; syllabication, 72; expression in 
reading, 72-73; rules for criticism, 74; 
corrections by pupils, 74-76; direc- 
tions for reading, 76; study of punc- 



tuation, 76-77; rules for capitals, 78; 
poetry, 78-79; supplementary read- 
ing. 79-81; myths, fables and legends, 
81-82; amount of reading required, 
82; how to use readers, 82-83; phonics 
for first two grades, 83-92. Third 
year: the situation, 94-95; order of 
procedure, 95-96; breathing, 96-97; 
bad habits, 97-98; rules for readers, 
98; the alphabet, 98-99; phonics, 99- 
100; rules for pronunciation, loo-ioi; 
sight reading for first three years, loi- 
102; silent and oral, 102-103; the 
critical period, 103-104; illustrative 
lesson, 104-109; selection of reading 
matter, 1 10-113; poems, 113; supple- 
mentary reading, 113-114; reading 
and study, 114-115; racial Uterature, 
115-117; an artistic accomplishment, 
117-118; causes of poor reading, 118- 
119; material for drills, 119-122; 
books for teachers, 122-123; books for 
pupils, 123; correlated with physi- 
ology, II, 187; sense factor in, 239. 
See Phonics. 

Receding Lines, study of, II, 124-126. 

Recesses, II, 324-325- 

Recitation, The, purpose, II, 339; plan, 
329-332; teacher's preparation, 332- 

• 333- 

Records, of tree study, I, 292- of bird 
migration, 333-334- 

Recreation, I, 175; II, 325-327. 

Reference Books, for nature sturty, I, 
283. 

Relay Touch Race, I, 180. 

Repair. See Waste. 

Responsibility, how developed, II, «69- 
271 

Restlessness, I, 12-13. 

Reverence, how taught, II, 266-267. 

Reviews, in first year reading, I, 33 53- 
56; in second year reading, 59. In 
language, written: first year, 148-149; 
second year, 149; third year, 150-152. 
In nature study, 309-311. In geog- 
raphy, II, 19-20. General nature of, 
336-337- 

Rewards and Prizes, I, 22. 

Rhyme, first study of, I, 133; in the 
second year, 145-146; in the third 
grade, 152. 

Rhythm, in verse: introduction, to, T, 
133: second year study, 145-146; 
third year study, 152. In mus>-?. 



Index 



S55 



recognition of, II, 220; representation 
of, 221-222; drill exercises, 223-224. 

Rhythm Games, balls, I, 1 80-1 81; with 
wands, 181; Jumping Jack, River 
Row, 181. 

River Row, I, 181. 

Robin, The, type study: arrival in spring, 
I, 292; habits, 292; nest and young, 
292-293; correlated subjects, 293; aids 
from literature, 293; riddle, 293; How 
DO THE Robins Build their Nests, 
293-294. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, extracts from 
address of, I, 3-4. 

Roots, study of, I, 314. 

Rote Song, The, II, 214-2x5. 

Ruler, use of, in first year number work, 
I, 227; in penmanship work, II, 172- 
173- 

Rules, for capitals, I, 32, 78; for crit- 
icism, 74; for reading, 76, 98; for 
pronunciation, loo-ioi; for care of 
children's voices, II, 212-213; for con- 
duct, 278-279. 

Rules, or Laws, for the school, I, 13-16; 
characteristics of, 14; enforcement of 
rules, 14; preventing disorder, 15. 

Ruling, for penmanship lessons, II, 172- 
173. 

Sand Box, The, II, 293. 

Santa Claus, construction work, II, 54. 

66. 
Scale, The, teaching of, II, 226. 
Scale Songs, The Fountain, Coasting. 

I, 189; Up the Ladder, 190. 
School and Its Environment, The, 

agencies in moral training, II, 256- 
258; teacher's responsibility and prep- 
aration, 285-286; the problem, 286; 
schoolhouse, 286-292; furniture, 292- 
294; grounds, 294-296; patrons, 296- 
297; school officials, 297-298; the 
superintendent, 298-300; the pupils, 
300-301 ; the teacher, 301-304; require- 
ments, 304-305. See Schoolhouse, 
School Management. 

School Grounds, a moral agency, II, 256; 
arrangement and decoration, 294 296. 

Schoolhouse, agency in moral training, 

II, 256; care of, 286-287; seats, 287- 
28S; heating apparatus, 288-289; ven- 
tilation, 289-290; points to remember, 
290-291; Hghting, 291; condition of 
building, 291-392; furniture, 292-294. 



School Management, importance, II. 
307; general matters, 307-308; emer- 
gencies, 308-312; apparatus, 312-314; 
books and periodicals, 314-316; decor- 
ations, 316-321; organization, 321- 
322; helpers, 322; program, 322-324; 
recesses, 324-325; work for pupils not 
reciting, 325-327; Friday program, 
327-328; special days, 328-329; the 
recitation, 329-333; questioning, 333- 
336; reviews and examinations, 336- 
337; amount of written work, 337; 
marking papers, 33 7-339; choosing 
methods, 339-340; order of procedure, 
340-341; habits of mental work, 341- 
343. See School and its Environ- 
ment. 

School Regime, made conducive to right 
moral development, II, 260-261. 

Schoolroom, The, influence upon moral 
development, II, 256-257. 

Schoolroom Gardens, window boxes, I, 
312; tumbler gardens, 312-313; sponge 
gardens, 313; vegetable cups, 313. 

Screen, construction work, II, 60-61. 

Script, transition from, to print, I, 40-41. 

Seasons, plant study correspondence 
with, I, 311; spring study, 311-312; 
summer work, 313-314; fall work, 314- 
31s; winter work, 315. 

Seats, II, 287-288. 

Seeds, study of, I, 314; books for, II, 
55-56. 

Self-Control, development of, II, 279. 

Sense-Organs, defective, need of tests 
for, II, 234-235; testing the ear, 235- 
236; testing the eye, 236; right condi- 
tions, 236-237; development, 237. 

Senses, The, function of, II, 233; rela- 
tion of senses and knowledge, 233- 
234; necessity for use of, 234; defec- 
tive sense-organs, 234-237; facts con- 
cerning, 237-238; sense factor in all 
lessons, 238-245; importance of in- 
direct sense-training, 245-246; books 
for teachers, 246. 

Sense Training, an aid to penmanship, 
II, 167; correlated with physiology, 
188; indirect, importance of, 245-246; 
systematic procedure, 340-341. 

Sensitive Fingers Games, I, 185-186. 

Sentence Method, in teaching reading, 
I. 28. 

Sewing Bag, II, 59-60. 

Sharp Ears Games, I, 83, 90, 184-185. 



356 



Index 



Sharp Eyes Games, I, 182-183. 

Short Division. See Division. 

Shrubs, for schoolgrounds, II, 294-295- 

Sight Reading, for first three years, I, 
101-102. 

Silent Influences. See Influences. 

Silent Reading, I, 72, 102-103. 

Similes, use and study of, I, 130-131. 

Skin, The, study of, II, 200-201. 

Skip Tag, I, 178. 

Slander, how prevented, II, 274. 

Sled, construction work, II, 71. 

Snow, lesson on, II, 28. 

Society, influence upon moral training, 
II, 254; the street, 254-255; the gang, 
255; other organizations, 255-256. 

Soldier's Cap, construction work, II, 61- 
63. 

Songs, value, I, 187; classification, 187; 
dramatization, 187-188; how to teach, 
i88; how to phrase, 188-189; inter- 
pretation, 189. Selections: words 
and music, scale songs, 189-190; 
occupation songs, 190-192; lullabies, 
193-195; game songs, 196-199; un- 
classified songs, 200-201; list of books 
for teachers, 202. 

Sound and Symbol, association of, when 
taught, I, 84; resemblances, 85; initial 
vowels, 85-86; first use of phonics, 86. 

Special Days, II, 328-329. 

Specimens, of school work, II, 320. 

Spelling, what spelling includes, II, 154; 
preparatory work, 155; oral and writ- 
ten, 155-156; first lessons, 156-157; 
how much to spell, 157; plan for 
written work, 157-159; deficient chil- 
dren, 159-160; how to study lessons, 
160-162; visualization, 162-163; value 
of imaging power, 163; law of associa- 
tion, 163-164; spelling and drawing, 
164; spelling in sentences, 164-165: 
rules for teachers, 165-166; correlated 
with physiology, 187. 

Sponge Garden, A, I, 313. 

Spring Study, of plants: wild flowers, I, 
311-312; school gardens, 31a; culti- 
vated flowers, 312. 

Spruces, recognition of, I, 308. 

Squirrel, The, type study: purpose, I, 
297; plan, 297; outline, 297-300; illus- 
trative lessons, 300-305; written exer- 
cises, 305-306. 

Stained Glass Effects, art work, II, 144. 

Stars, construction work, II, 50. 



Stedman, Edmund Clarence, The Four 

Winds, II, 14. 

Stencils, for nature study, I, 283. 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, Foreign 
Lands, I, 105; extract from Autumn 
Fires, II, 15; The Wind, 15-16. 

Stitching, exercises in, II, 46-47. 

Stories, for first year reading class, I, 
50-51; for second year reading class, 
64-65, 80-82; for third year reading 
class, 110-117; for language work, 129- 
130, 133-J3S. 137. 148; selection of, 
168-169; desirable qualities of, 170; 
how told, 170-171; children's favor- 
ites. 171; schoolroom uses of, 171- 
173; lists of suitable selections, 173- 
174- 

Story Telling, in language lessons, I, 129- 
130, 133-135- Value, 167-168; selec- 
tion of stories, 168-169; qualities of a 
good story, 170; how to tell stories, 
170-171; favorite stories of children, 
171; schoolroom uses of stories, 171- 
173; books for teachers, 173-174. 

Study, teaching methods of, I, 67-68; 
independent, 72; relation to reading, 
114-115- 

Subtraction, in first year, I, 213. 218- 
223; in second year, illustrative les- 
sons, 241-243. 

Summer Work, in nature study, I, 313- 
314. 

Sun, The, study of, II, 28. 

Superintendent, The, II, 298-300. 

Supplementary Reading, for first year, 
I, 49-51. In second year, value, 60- 
61; kinds of, 79-82. In third year, 
113-114- 

Supply Houses, for art materials, II, 83. 

Surface, in geography, II, 26. 

Sweet and Low, II, 15. 

Syllabication, I, 72, 89. 

Syllabus, first three years' music, II, 
226,-330 

Sympathy, need of more, I, 16. 

Table, construction work, II, 63. 

Tardiness, I, ix. 

Teacher, The, responsibility for order, I, 
18-19; qualities as a disciplinarian, 
32-23; preparation for reading lessons, 
61; success in language work, 127-128; 
facts to be remembered in number 
work, 232-233; preparation for num- 
ber work, 379-260; preparation for 



Index 



357 



nature study, 320; preparation for 
geography, II, 3-5; preparation for 
construction work, 38-39; rules for, 
in teaching spelling, 165-166; prepara- 
tion for penmanship lessons, 168; 
preparation for physiology lessons, 
184; moral influence of, 258-239; atti- 
tude in teaching, general preparation, 
285-286; her problem, 286; character, 
301-302; personal appearance, 302- 
303; qualifications, 303; responsibility, 
303-304; requirements, 304-305; prep- 
aration for recitation, 332-333- 

Technical Forms, in language work, I, 
I3S-I37- 

Temperance Physiology, II, 206-209. 

Tempo, recognition of, II, 224. 

Tennyson, Alfred, Sweet AND Low, II, 15. 

Test Questions, Discipline I, 25* First 
Year Reading, 57; Second Year 
Reading, and Phonics, 92: Third 
Year Reading, 123; Language, 161; 
Dramatization, Story Telling, 
Games, Songs, 202-203; First Year 
Number Work, 231; Second Year 
Number Work, 260-261; Third Year 
Number Work, 280-281: Nature 
Study, 316-317, 349; Geography and 
History, II, 36; Construction Work 
79; Drawing, 93, loi, 108 116, 122, 
128-129, 134, 140, 146, 151; Spell- 
ing AND Penmanship, 182-183; 
Physiology, 209-210; Music, 232: 
Use op the Senses, 246-247 ■ Moral 
Training, 284; School and Its En- 
vironment, 305-306; School Man- 
agement, 343. 

Thanksgiving, subject for construction 
work: dinner table, II, 44-45 place 
cards for dinner, 70; Subject for art 
work, io6-io8. 

Thieving, I, lo-ii. 

Threshers, The, words and music, I, 191- 
192- 

Tiptoe Catch, I, 178. 

Tone, recognition of, II, 216-218; repre- 
sentation of, 218-220. 

Tongue, training the, methods for, I, 
84; associating sound and symbol, 84- 
86; diacritic marks, 86-89; suggestive 
lesson for, 90-91. 

Toss and Catch, I, 181. 

Trade Game. I, 178. 

Travel, means of, studied by geography 
class, II, 27; history lesson on, 30-32. 



Travel and Adventure, stories of, I, 169. 
See Journeys. 

Tree, The, general plan for study of, I, 
291-292; records, 292; recognition of 
deciduous trees, 307; recognition of 
common evergreens, 308-309; ever- 
greens made interesting, 309; review 
lessons, 309-310; aids, 3iS-3i6- 

Trees, on school grounds, II, 294. 

Triangular Box, construction work, II, 
S0-51. 

Trunk, The, parts of, II, 202. 

Truthfulness, forms of, II, 271; lying, 
271-273; exaggeration, 273; prevari- 
cation, 273-274; slander, 274. 

Tumbler Gardens, I, 312-313. 

Type Lessons, in first year reading, I, 51- 
53. 55-56; in second year reading, 68- 
71; 77, 80-81; in phonics, 90-92; in 
third year reading, 104-109; in lan- 
guage, 131-133. I43-I4S. 146-148. 149- 
152; in dramatization, 165-166; in 
first year number work, 209-230; in 
second year number work, 237-260; 
in third year number work, 263-276. 
277-279; in nature study, 291-306, 
326, 329, 337-338, 344-347; in geog- 
raphy, II, 8-19, 28-29; in history, 30- 
35 ; in construction work, 40-79; in 
drawing, 84-151; in penmanship, 179- 
182; in physiology, 191-192. 

Up the Ladder, words and music, I, 190. 

Valentines, construction work. II, 51- 
52, 64, 73-74; art work, 127. 

Vegetable Cups, I, 313- 

Ventilation, II. 289-290. 

Village, construction work. II, 53-54- 

Visualization, of words, II, 162-163. 

Voices, children's, care of. II, 212-213; 
uniting. 215-216. 

Wagons and Parade, construction work. 

II. 66. 
Waste and Repair, lessons on, II, 205- 

206. 
Water Colors, for school use, II, 82; 

brushes, water color pan, 82; use of, 

85-86. 
Weather, study of: first year. I, 288. 

II. 20-22; second year. I. 290, II. 20- 

22. See Climate. 
Weather Calendar, II, 21-22. 
Weaving, construction work. II, 59. 72' 



358 Index 

Whispering, I, 8-10. Wonder Box, The, I, 83-84. 

White, Emerson E., extract from School Word Method, in teaching reading, I. 27- 

Management, I, 5. 38. 

Wigwams, study of, II, 33-34- Work Table, The, II, 393. 

Will, The, training of, II, 251-252. Writing. See Penmanship. 

Wind, The, type study of, II, 13-16. Written Work, in language, I, 139-142, 
Wind, The, II, 15-16. 148-152; in narration, 172; in first 

Windmill, construction work, II, 77. year number work, 223-223; in third 

Window Boxes, I, 312. year number work, 276-377; in nature 

Winter Work, in nature study, I, 315, study, 305-306; amount of, II, 337. 



JL 2R WJ 



